NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of US Airways and other airlines are tanking Tuesday morning after the Justice Department and a number of state attorneys general challenged the proposed merger between US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp.
US Airways stock is off nearly 9 percent. Its shares have quadrupled since late 2011, when AMR filed for bankruptcy and US Airways began to pursue a merger. The deal would create the world's largest airline by passenger miles.
Stock of United Continental Holdings Inc., the current No. 1, is off 4 percent. Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc., the second-biggest airline, dropped 8 percent. Both those airlines have recently grown through billion-dollar mergers.
The selling struck other airline stocks too. JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are lower as well.
