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US court clears Northwest Airlines to exit Chapter 11

Northwest Airlines Corp said on Friday it had won court approval for its reorganization plan to allow the carrier to emerge from bankruptcy on May 31.

The airline said the judge for the US Bankruptcy Court for in New York signed the order confirming Northwest's plan to exit Chapter 11 supervision.

"We are pleased to have completed our restructuring successfully. We are now focused on emerging from Chapter 11 as a strong, publicly traded company, which will provide excellent service to our global customer base," said Doug Steenland, Northwest Airlines president and chief executive officer.

"I want to thank our customers and creditors for their understanding and cooperation during the past 20 months as we completed the restructuring process. Most importantly, I want to thank our employees for their hard work and sacrifices that helped Northwest attain its goal of repositioning the airline for long-term success," Steenland said.

Northwest implemented a plan to cut some US$2.5 billion from annual operating costs to respond to the worst crisis in the US airline industry, which was rocked by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and record-high fuel prices.

Northwest and Delta Air Lines Inc had filed for creditor protection on the same day in September 2005, which at the time left four of the top six carriers in bankruptcy.

Since that time, the remaining carriers, with the exception of Northwest, have emerged from court supervision and the financial picture of the industry has markedly improved.
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