DALLAS (Bloomberg) — US Airways Group Inc. withdrew its hostile $9.75 billion offer for bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. after creditors endorsed Delta’s plan to stay independent.The risks and time required for a successful merger were too great, Delta’s official unsecured creditors committee said yesterday in a statement. The panel’s decision was pivotal because it will help set terms for Delta to exit court protection.

The rejection dashes US Airways chief executive officer Doug Parker’s hopes of creating the world’s largest airline by acquiring Delta while it was still in bankruptcy. It also may delay US airline industry consolidation, analysts said.

“It will take away one of the factors that might have led other airlines to consider mergers,” said Dan Kasper, an airline economist with LEGC LLC in Washington. A possible Delta-US Airways tie-up spurred talks among other carriers seeking to protect or expand their market share.

US Airways, based in Tempe, Arizona, had set tomorrow as the deadline for the creditors to act on its cash-and-stock offer. Atlanta-based Delta had fought the bid since it was disclosed on November 15, saying creditors would get a better return if the carrier were allowed to leave bankruptcy as an independent company this year.

“Our focus is now on the work still before us to emerge from Chapter 11 this spring as a strong, healthy and vibrant global competitor,” Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein said in a statement. Delta is the third-largest US airline by traffic; US Airways is No. 7.