10,000 tasks later, Delta merger complete

ATLANTA, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A U.S. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said a review of the merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines was ready for an official stamp of approval.

The two air carriers have been merging operations for several months and expect to receive a single operating certificate before the end of the year, Cox Newspapers reported Tuesday.

"It means there's one airline instead of two. Everything's merged from a safety standpoint," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

The regulatory review included a scrutiny of the merger from the point of view of safety, including operations, training, policies and paperwork.

Merging operations took more than 10,000 steps and included merging 385 manuals.

"We've had a lot of great work done by our operational teams," Delta's Chief Operating Officer Steve Gorman said recently.

The "invisible curtain between the two certificates" ends Jan. 1, he said.