(Reuters) – Low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways said on Monday it has terminated its $3.8 billion merger agreement with rival Spirit Airlines, after a U.S. judge blocked the deal on anti-competition concerns.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Young found the proposed deal was likely to hurt competition in the U.S. aviation market and could harm ticket prices.
That prompted JetBlue to raise doubts over the future of its deal, saying it might be unable to meet certain conditions required as part of the agreement.
If the deal went through, it would have created the fifth-largest carrier in the United States and helped Spirit secure its survival.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Arun Koyyur)
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