Virgin Airlines Fined $1.05M for Flying in Restricted Airspace Over Iraq

The US Department of Transportation has fined Virgin Atlantic airlines $1.05 million for repeatedly flying in restricted airspace over Iraq in 2020 and 2021. The air carrier flights had been operating with Delta Air Lines’ flight codes at the time, and therefore required approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration. The flights were operating between London and India. Virgin Atlantic said in a statement that as soon as it was made aware of the restrictions in September 2021 it changed the route’s flightpath and that the overflights were “inadvertent.” It also said that operational disruption and crew shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic were part of the reason for its violation of the restriction. The airline will owe another $525,000 if it violates such restrictions again. At the time of the violations, other countries allowed their airlines to operate in the airspace over Iraq. The FAA barred Iraq overflights in March 2020 due to militia activities and increased tensions in the country. In a similar case in 2020, Emirates airline was fined $400,000 for operating over Iran when codesharing with JetBlue between July 1 and July 19, 2019.