Delta fighting to stay out of gun debate and is 'not taking sides' by scrapping NRA discounts, says chief executive

The company is looking to 'end group discounts for any group of a politically divisive nature', the chief executive says

Georgia state lawmakers retaliated after Atlanta-based Delta said it would no longer offer discounts for NRA members (Getty Images )

Delta Air Lines' chief executive has said the company is not “taking sides” in the gun control debate, even though its decision to no longer offer discounts for National Rifle Association (NRA) members put it in the centre of it.

“Our objective in removing any implied affiliation with the NRA was to remove Delta from this debate,” CEO Ed Bastian told employees in a memo, which was titled “Delta and the school safety debate”.

Georgia state lawmakers had not taken kindly to the Atlanta-based company’s decision to sever ties with the NRA. In a move that was largely viewed as retribution, they dropped a jet-fuel tax break that Delta wanted from a tax bill they passed on Thursday.

“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,” Mr Bastian said. “Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale.”

“We are in the process of a review to end group discounts for any group of a politically divisive nature,” he added.

Republican Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle had tweeted earlier this week: “I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA”.

Following the dustup, leaders in multiple states have invited Delta to move their headquarters.

But Mr Bastian maintained in the memo that Atlanta is Delta’s home despite the state legislature’s decision.

“And we are supporters of the 2nd Amendment, just as we embrace the entire Constitution of the United States,” he added.

Delta is just one of several companies that have distanced themselves from the NRA following a mass school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead.

United Airlines has also said it would no longer offer discounted rates for members of the powerful gun-rights lobbying group.