Delta and Aeromexico Can Continue Their Joint Venture After Appeals Court Ruling

Delta and Aeromexico can continue operating their joint venture after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an order that would have ended it. The ruling leaves the airlines’ existing cooperation in place while a disagreement over the U.S.–Mexico Air Transport Agreement remains unresolved.

The decision reverses a September order from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which had directed the airlines to dissolve the venture by Jan. 1. The DOT said Mexico had not complied with the 2015 agreement. After reviewing the legality of the order to terminate the venture’s approval, the appeals court set it aside last week.

For the airlines, the immediate operational consequence is continuity: they can keep coordinating under the arrangement as intended. Delta said the cooperation had provided customers with more choice and connectivity over nearly a decade, and said it remained focused on benefits for customers, employees and communities. The statement did not describe changes to routes, schedules or cargo operations following the ruling.

What the dispute means for the venture

A joint venture gives airlines a framework to coordinate parts of their operations. In this case, Delta and Aeromexico’s arrangement has been authorized to operate as a joint venture. The September order put that status at risk by requiring the two carriers to dissolve it. The appeals court’s ruling removes that immediate requirement, allowing the existing arrangement to continue.

That distinction matters for shippers and logistics teams that rely on air cargo capacity. When airlines coordinate, the arrangement can affect how customers access services across the participating carriers’ networks. But the source does not report a change in cargo capacity, rates, flight frequency or service availability as a result of the ruling. The practical takeaway for freight buyers is that the venture remains in place; any effect on individual shipments or schedules would need to be confirmed with the carriers.

The ruling also does not resolve the underlying disagreement over the 2015 agreement. It addresses the legality of the DOT’s order to terminate the venture’s approval. The dispute’s next operational significance will depend on whether the carriers’ ability to cooperate changes, or whether further decisions alter the arrangement. No further timeline or next step is specified in the source.

Air cargo restrictions remain part of the backdrop

The venture dispute follows restrictions the DOT placed on Mexico’s passenger and air cargo operations in July 2025. At the time, the department said Mexico had abused the agreement and had not taken meaningful action to address its concerns. Those restrictions were a separate part of the broader disagreement; the appeals court ruling described here concerns the order requiring Delta and Aeromexico to dissolve their venture.

The DOT traced its compliance concerns to a requirement that carriers move cargo operations from Benito Juarez International Airport, also known as Mexico City International Airport (MEX), to Felipe Angeles International Airport (AFIA). Air Cargo News reported on the planned cargo move in February 2023. The source does not detail how the airport change affected specific carriers, cargo volumes or individual routes, so the effect on current freight flows cannot be determined from the available information.

For cargo customers, the airport issue and the joint venture ruling are related through the same bilateral air transport framework, but they are distinct operational matters. The court’s decision preserves the airlines’ ability to continue their cooperation. It does not, on the facts provided, establish that the airport-related disagreement has been settled or that the cargo restrictions have been lifted.

What customers should watch

Delta and Aeromexico’s statement emphasized customer connectivity and choice, while the DOT’s earlier position focused on competition and the treatment of U.S. carriers. Those competing views frame the dispute, but the ruling’s immediate effect is specific: the order to end the venture has been overturned. The source gives no new route, service or capacity commitments from either airline.

Shippers and travel buyers can therefore treat continued operation of the venture as the current position, while checking directly with the carriers for shipment-level details. The useful indicators to watch are any announced changes to the airlines’ coordination, service schedules or cargo handling arrangements. For now, the court ruling keeps the joint venture operating, while leaving the separate questions around the air transport agreement and Mexico City cargo operations open.

The September order had set Jan. 1 as the deadline for dissolving the venture. The appeals court’s decision has displaced that order, allowing Delta and Aeromexico to continue their joint operations as intended.