Delta responds to Saudi airline controversy

Delta Airlines

Delta Air Lines Inc. has released a statement denying rumors of religious discrimination related to its new partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The Atlanta-based carrier announced in January Saudi Arabian Airlines, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, plans to join Delta’s global alliance SkyTeam in 2012. Rumors swirled in recent days in media outlets, blogs and the Internet that Delta (NYSE: DAL) would adopt the Saudi airline’s policy of not flying Jews and allowing Christian and Jewish bibles aboard flights into the kingdom, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported.

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said in a statement on the company’s blog the airline does not discriminate. Delta is the largest carrier at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport.

However, the airline noted “visa requirements to enter any country are dictated by that nation’s government, not the airlines, and they apply to anyone entering the country” and that Delta must “comply with all applicable laws governing entry into every country we serve.”