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DOT Orders End to Delta-Aeroméxico Partnership Over Competition Issues

By  |  November 4, 2025

The US government has moved to dissolve a long-standing partnership between Delta Air Lines and Aeroméxico, saying the alliance limits competition and no longer serves travelers’ best interests, according to Fox.

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    In a court filing Monday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) stated that it “validly decided to no longer authorize legalized collusion” between the two airlines, which together manage almost 60% of operations at Mexico City International Airport—one of the busiest gateways for flights between the US and Mexico.

    The joint venture, initially approved in 2016 under an antitrust immunity agreement, allowed the carriers to coordinate on “prices, capacity and operations,” per Fox. The DOT’s Final Order 2025-9-8, issued in September, determined that such coordination now undermines competition across the US-Mexico aviation market. The agency concluded that ending the approval “serves the public interest.”

    Related: Delta and Aeromexico Challenge U.S. Order to End Joint Venture

    According to Fox, the order stipulates that the airlines’ antitrust immunity must expire by January 1, 2026, unless a court intervenes. The Justice Department supported the DOT’s stance in an August filing, saying the agency had performed “an analytically rigorous evaluation of the competitive effects … consistent with its statutory authority and its public-interest mandate.”

    Delta and Aeroméxico have appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the order, contending that their collaboration benefits travelers by improving connectivity and producing “hundreds of millions of dollars in annual consumer benefits.” The decision does not require Delta to divest its 20% ownership stake in Aeroméxico.

    Source: Fox