HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane says she’s worked to assure US Airways and American Airlines continue service to Pennsylvania airports after their merger, which was approved Tuesday by the Justice Department.

Kane says she opposed the merger, which creates the world’s largest airline, but says a stipulated court order has been filed locking the airlines into serving Pennsylvania airports.

Kane says US Airways is guaranteeing to continue to operate a hub at Philadelphia International Airport for three years, and the merged airline has agreed to continue service at every Pennsylvania airport already served by either or both airlines for the next five years.

Kane says the agreement prevents some Pennsylvania markets from losing service, which has occurred after past airline mergers. She says the airlines’ commitments are enforceable by contempt of court actions if they’re broken.

The settlement, if approved by a federal judge, would end a fight with the U.S. Justice Department and head off a courtroom showdown later this month.

It preserves hub airports in Phoenix, Philadelphia, Charlotte and four other cities for at least three years. And it caps a series of mergers that have already eliminated four big U.S. airlines and stoked fear about higher travel prices.

For American, the nation’s third-biggest airline, the deal lets parent AMR Corp. exit bankruptcy protection, repay creditors and reward shareholders.

At US Airways, the No. 5 U.S. carrier, shareholders will own 28 percent of the new company, employees stand to get more pay, and top executives will realize their dreams of running an airline even bigger than United or Delta.