WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday released the following statement after JetBlue Airways announced it would call off its planned $3.8 billion merger with Spirit Airlines:

“This is great news for every American who takes a flight to visit their family and friends, go on vacation, or travel for work because it means we’re preserving competition in the airline industry. A handful of airlines shouldn’t be able to keep prices high without any competition from smaller companies and the antidote to airline consolidation isn’t letting the big four become the big five. The Biden Administration has made it a top priority to break up monopolies and infuse competition into markets– today’s announcement proves their efforts are working.”

Murphy released a video last month when a federal judge blocked the proposed merger. Last October, Murphy hosted a social live conversation with Bill McGee, Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, on the proposed JetBlue-Spirit merger, its potential consequences for consumers, airline workers, and local communities, and the harms of consolidation in the airline industry.

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