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The US DoT said Friday it had tentatively approved a proposed alliance agreement between Delta and Canada's WestJet that is expected to expand travel options between the US and Canada. The department said as part of its tentative antitrust immunity approval it would require the carriers to remove Swoop, an ultra low-cost carrier affiliate of WestJet, from the alliance, and divest 16 takeoff and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The department also proposes to require WestJet to provide interline access to select carriers flying to Canada, and to review the proposed alliance in five years. Interline agreements allow consumers to fly to destinations using both airlines. The Delta-WestJet joint venture would have a combined 27% share of scheduled air carrier transborder capacity, while the dominant carrier, Air Canada, would have 45%. WestJet welcomed the tentative approval, saying the two carriers are reviewing the order "and will respond." The carriers said the proposed alliance “would optimize aircraft utilization, enhance schedules, and lower costs.”<br/>

In a new memo, Delta says it has banned more than 400 people from flying for not following the airline's mask policy. "As of this week, we've added 460 people to our no-fly list for refusing to comply with our mask requirement," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a message to employees. In August, the airline said it had banned roughly 270 passengers since the outset of the pandemic. Delta began requiring that passengers wear masks on flights on May 4. All major airlines now mandate that passengers wear masks in the absence of any new regulations from the federal government. Airlines in June agreed to ban passengers from future flights for refusing to wear masks. But the airlines are not sharing information with one another about the passengers they have banned. So, for example, a passenger banned on Delta can still book a flight on American and vice versa.<br/>