The US carrier Delta Airlines has completed a takeover of rival Northwest Airlines to create the world’s leading airline in terms of passenger traffic, overtaking Air France-KLM. The two companies were combined after the US justice department said it had no objections on competition grounds. The airline will be based in Delta’s home city of Atlanta. Over the next two years, Northwest’s uniforms and aircraft insignia will disappear and the group will be run by Delta’s chief executive, Richard Anderson. The enlarged airline employs 75,000 people and has annual revenue of $35bn (£21bn).
Andrew Clark in New York