The US fines Middle Eastern airline Emirates $1.8 million for flights that passed too low over Iraq
The United States has imposed a $1.8 million fine against Middle Eastern airline Emirates for flights that passed too low over Iraq, in violation of U.S. restrictions
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department said Thursday that it fined Middle Eastern airline Emirates $1.8 million for flights in regions off-limits to U.S. airlines while it allowed JetBlue Airways to sell seats on the planes.
The fine involves a “significant number” of flights from December 2021 to August 2022 that passed over Iraq on their way between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
UAE-based Emirates was fined $400,000 in 2020 for similar flights and agreed not to repeat the same violation.
JetBlue and Emirates had an arrangement called code-sharing in which the New York-based carrier sold seats on Emirates flights as if they were its own planes. The United States lets foreign airlines operate flights sold under the name or code of a U.S. airline if they obey Federal Aviation Administration restrictions when they do.
