Could Delta Be Cutting Ties with All Divisive Groups?

Delta is cleaning house.

The Atlanta-based airline announced Friday it’s considering ending its relationships with all “divisive” organizations as part of a broader effort to quell the firestorm surrounding its decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association.

Last week Delta rescinded its group travel discount for the NRA’s annual travel meeting. It also asked the organization to remove its name and logo from the NRA website.

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The decision to end the discount, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees, followed the NRA’s controversial comments in the wake of the February 24 school shootings in Parkland, Florida.

“Our discounted travel benefit for NRA members could be seen as Delta implicitly endorsing the NRA. That is not the case,” Bastian said in the memo.

Bastian went on to note that in ending the airline’s affiliation with the NRA, the goal was not to take sides in the national debate, but rather remove Delta from the debate entirely. But the decision had the opposite effect, generating further controversy. Georgia state lawmakers who were upset by Delta’s decision quickly announced they would remove a tax exemption on jet fuel from a fiscal bill.

As TravelPulse’s Donald Wood reported, Georgia’s lieutenant governor Casey Cagle stated via Twitter that he would block any legislation that provided tax benefits for Delta.

“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.

The airline is now considering ending ties with all groups that may be deemed controversial, Bastian said. He did not indicate which groups might be affected by the new move.

“Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale,” the Delta CEO said in his memo. “We are in the process of a review to end group discounts for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

Bastian added that Delta fully supports the Second Amendment, just as it also embraces the entire Constitution of the United States.

READ MORE: Delta's Tax Breaks Threatened After NRA Decision

As for the tax bill that excluded the jet-fuel break, Deal signed it. But he has promised to find a way to introduce the exemption again, Bloomberg reported.

It was anticipated that the measure would save the airlines about $40 million. Delta stood to benefit the most as Georgia’s largest carrier.

“I have tremendous respect and admiration for Governor Nathan Deal and thank him for the work he has done on the jet fuel tax exemption. He is a great friend to Delta,” Bastian's memo said. “I know this action by the state legislature troubled him as it does all of us.”

Delta is among numerous other major companies in the United States that have cut ties with the NRA, including fellow carrier United Airlines.