Federal judge blocks JetBlue purchase of Spirit Airlines, following DOJ's antitrust challenge

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, handing a win to the Justice Department which sued to stop the purchase. 

JetBlue proposed a purchase of Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion, which the two carriers argued would help with competition against other airlines such as United or Delta. 

The federal judge in Boston who blocked the purchase argued that those kinds of deals would be "anticompetitive," according to CNBC News.

“JetBlue’s plan would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides – and about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industry – and leave tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer options,” the Justice Department alleged in its lawsuit filed last year. 

JetBlue was going to remodel Spirit’s yellow planes by removing the branding and seats, according to the outlet. 

Neither airline has commented on the ruling yet.