The US Department of Transportation said on Friday it has fined Air Canada US$250,000 for operating flights in 2022 and 2023 through restricted airspace in Iraq.
The agency had jurisdiction because those flights had the manufacturer code of United Airlines. The violation occurred on several flights between the United Arab Emirates and Toronto in airspace that was prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration to US operators.
The FAA cited the “complex security environment” that exists in Iraq for the intercepted flights. Air Canada must pay US$125,000 in fines and owe another US$125,000 if it violates the order again within a year. Air Canada will stop code sharing with United on the route in January 2023.
Air Canada said “the incidents were brief, unplanned and inappropriate and due to several factors, including air traffic control restrictions and the transition to a larger aircraft requiring additional time to gain sufficient altitude.” Safety was not compromised.” The carrier added that it has taken action to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Emirates was fined $1.5 million by the Department of Transportation in June for using JetBlue Airways’ JBLU.O code-named flights in Iraqi airspace. This is the second time they have been fined since 2020.
-Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis