Virgin Atlantic has said it violated a U. S. ban on flying over Iraq after being fined more than £870,000 through U. S. authorities.
The U. S. Department of Transportation The US fined the airline £1. 05 million (£870,700) after finding that a “significant number” of the airline’s flights between the UK and India crossed limited airspace in Iraq between September 2020 and September 2021.
At the time, the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration was not allowed to take action. The U. S. Air Force (FAA) banned flights through U. S. airlines at any altitude due to “intensified defense force activity and heightened tensions in Iraq. “
The U. S. federal firm The U. S. government still bans civilian aircraft below 32,000 feet.
Virgin Atlantic then submitted to the FAA’s restrictions, the branch said, as it operated in partnership with Delta Air Lines, the U. S. carrier that owns 49 percent of the U. K. -based company.
Airlines have a so-called codeshare agreement in which Delta puts its own “code” on some Virgin Atlantic flights and seats as if they were Delta planes.
In a consent agreement released Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic said the overflights were unintentional.
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The airline said it has followed FAA restrictions on codeshare flights in the afterlife and that the violations were caused by disruptions and shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company said it diverted flights after learning of the violations.
Half of the fine, £435,350 ($525,000), will be cancelled if Virgin Atlantic prevents transgressions for a year, the Press Association said.