The CEO of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said the carrier remains opposed to a proposal by Georgia Republicans for the state to assume operations of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
In a conversation before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon, Delta CEO Ed Bastian questioned whether any good would come from the state taking away oversight of the world’s busiest airport from the city of Atlanta. He suggested politics may be involved.
“The airport is not something we should politicize,” he said.
A massive and ongoing federal corruption probe into City Hall includes airport contracts. Bastian said he believes the scandal is likely driving the Republican-led effort.
“I don’t understand why the state is necessarily going to do a better job of cleaning it up than the city,” he said.
Bastian said he believes Hartsfield-Jackson is well run and praised it as one of the leading drivers behind Atlanta’s recent growth.
During the hourlong Q&A, Bastian addressed other political issues, including last month’s agreement between the governments of the United States and the United Arab Emirates to end the UAE’s subsidies of its airlines. Bastian said years of unfair trade practices “victimized” his company, but that the Trump administration’s efforts to reach an agreement have cleared the way for Delta’s expansion into more international markets.
“Over time, I’d like our revenues on the international side to rival what they are on the domestic side. We couldn’t do that as long as we were facing [Middle Eastern] government agencies that were taking our flying opportunities away from us,” he said.
Bastian said he’d like international revenues to account for about half of all of Delta’s income. Right now, it brings in about a third of the airline’s revenues.
And closer to home, Bastian weighed in on the race for Georgia governor. He pledged to support that person, even if it’s Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, R-Gainesville.
Cagle orchestrated an effort to block a state sales tax exemption on jet fuel following Delta’s announcement it would cut ties with the National Rifle Association. Bastian said the decision cost Delta upwards of $40 million.
“There’s a lot of topics and a lot of issues that we have a lot of debate around with our government here in Washington as well as in Georgia and around the world,” Bastian said. “If Casey is the governor, we will certainly do our very best to support him in the role. We want him to succeed.”
Cagle faces Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp in a July runoff. The winner will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November.
