LONDON – British airline Virgin Atlantic has been fined $1.05 million by the United States for flying in restricted airspace over Iraq multiple times.
The fine was imposed by US Transportation Department (DOT) which has jurisdiction since the flights carried Delta Air Lines’ code. The fine was slapped as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a notice barring U.S. carriers from flying over Iraqi airspace without prior approval.
The department said investigations revealed Virgin Atlantic flew ‘a significant number’ of flights that breached the ban between September 2020 and September 2021, adding the airline was directed to cease future violations.
On the other hand, Virgin Atlantic said Tuesday that “as soon as we were made aware of this compliance issue by the DOT, our code share flight routings were immediately corrected.”
Virgin Atlantic, which was co-founded by Richard Branson, must pay $525,000 in three installments while the remaining $525,000 is payable only if Virgin Atlantic violates the order’s cease and desist or payment provisions.
In March 2020, the FAA had issued a notice banning flight operations at all altitudes due to “heightened militia activities and increased tensions in Iraq.; however, USDOT said Virgin Atlantic had told the agency the “prohibited overflights were inadvertent, caused by operational disruptions and loss of personnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Virgin Atlantic informed USDOT that upon notification by the U.S. government “it immediately rerouted flights to avoid the airspace in question and informed its board and senior leadership of the issue.”
