New York  - The shareholders of Northwest Airlines on Thursday approved the planned merger with Delta Air Lines.

At an annual meeting held in New York, more than 98 per cent of Northwest's stockholders favoured the creation of the largest airline in the world in terms of passengers, Northwest said. Northwest is the fifth-largest airline in the United States.

Delta shareholders were expected to decide on the merger later Thursday. Delta is currently the third-largest airline in the United States.

All large traditional US airlines are currently in the red. They are having to deal with the high cost of fuel, with excess capacity and with a slow economy in the United States. The situation has led to thousands of lay-offs, to the disappearance of many routes and to a drastic reduction in fleets. (dpa)