Delta Air Lines, the third-largest U.S. carrier, emerged from bankruptcy protection Monday after "a successful and efficient 19-month restructuring."

"Through our restructuring we have successfully repaired our balance sheet, improved the customer experience, expanded our international route system and built a platform for future success," said Delta chief executive Gerald Grinstein in a statement.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved Delta's exit from bankruptcy on April 25, according to the statement.

Delta has a 2.5 billion-dollar exit financing package that will be used to repay the company's 2.1 billion-dollar credit used during the bankruptcy process.

The Atlanta-based carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2005. It lost 6.2 billion dollars in 2006 amid a 5.4-billion charge for reorganization.

In the first quarter of this year, Delta posted a loss of 130 million dollars, marking a big improvement from the net loss of 2.1 billion dollars recorded in the same period a year ago.

Under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a company is free from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes its finances. The debtor usually retains control of the business and its assets.

In November last year, US Airways, the nation's sixth-largest carrier, announced a merger proposal to Delta "under which both companies would combine upon Delta's emergence from bankruptcy."

However, Delta said it planned "to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent airline."