Georgia punishes Delta for crossing the NRA; airline insists it's 'not taking sides'

Delta Air Lines Inc. showed no signs Friday of backing away from a decision to cancel fare discounts for the National Rifle Assn., despite a retaliatory move by Georgia state leaders that deprived the airline of a significant tax break.

Atlanta-based Delta released an internal memo that Chief Executive Ed Bastian sent to employees that insists the airline's aim is to stay neutral in the gun debate roiling the country since last month's deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school.

The memo appeared roughly at the same time that Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, signed into law a broad tax bill that GOP lawmakers had amended to kill a proposed tax break on jet fuel. The break would have saved Delta millions of dollars.

"While Delta's intent was to remain neutral, some elected officials in Georgia tied our decision to a pending jet fuel tax exemption, threatening to eliminate it unless we reversed course," Bastian said. "Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale."

Source:  latimes