U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is following through on his threat to force Delta and Aeromexico to dissolve their longtime partnership because of his concerns that Mexico isn’t being fair to U.S. airlines.
Duffy announced Tuesday that the Transportation Department is revoking the antitrust immunity the airlines have had since 2016 that allowed them to price and schedule their flights jointly and share revenue. He said it doesn’t make sense to maintain that arrangement as long as Mexico is giving its domestic airlines an unfair advantage through limits it placed on passenger and cargo flights into Mexico City several years ago.
This airline dispute is another front in the broader trade dispute that has the two countries at odds over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his concerns about border security. Duffy is focused on whether Mexico’s actions to force airlines to move out of the main Benito Juarez International Airport to the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport more than 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) away violated a trade agreement between the two countries and gave domestic airlines the advantage.