Airlines will be allowed to talk about airport delays.

Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Hanford Dole announced that antitrust immunity will be granted to airlines to enable them to hold discussions on scheduling to reduce delays at Atlanta and at Chicago’s O’Hare. Conditional immunity was granted for talks concerning delays at Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston, Denver, Newark and Philadelphia, she said, but that discussions on scheduling may not be necessary there. The airlines serving the seven airports will meet in Washington next week to begin talks concerning Atlanta and O’Hare and to hear whether the Federal Aviation Agency believes discussions are necessary on the other five.