Delta Air Lines is cutting its ties to industry trade group Airlines for America, due to differences on policy including the future of air traffic control.
The airline said the trade group ‘failed to support Delta on several key issues’ and announced it will leave A4A on April 26, 2016.
"The $5 million that Delta pays in annual dues to A4A can be better used to invest in employees and products to further enhance the Delta experience, and to support what we believe is a more efficient way of communicating in Washington," the carrier said in a statement.
The breakup is a major blow to A4A’s bargaining power with Federal lawmakers and stems from Delta opposition to A4A policy that the private sector should play a major role in governing the US air traffic control system.
The decision ‘was not unexpected as the carrier has not been aligned with other A4A members on a few key industry positions,’ an A4A statement said.
