The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Emirates $1.8 million for operating codeshare flights with JetBlue in prohibited airspace over Baghdad.
The flights, the number of which the department described only as “significant” under the consent order, occurred between December 2021 and August 2022.
Under FAA rules last extended in October 2020, U.S. airlines are not permitted to fly below 32,000 feet while transiting Baghdad airspace. This rule also applies to foreign airlines using U.S. airline codeshare flights.
“By operating its flights in this manner, Emirates violated the terms of its authority to operate and engage in passenger operations to and from the United States without appropriate DOT authorization,” the department said.
The ban expires in October without further extension.
Emirates said it had not violated any regulations. According to the consent order, the airline argued that its flight plan called for operating in the Baghdad area above 32,000 feet and that it flew lower at the direction of air traffic controllers. Emirates argues that such work is exempt from the emergency procedures of FAA regulations.
The airline also told DOT that safety is its top priority.
This is the second time Emirates has received such a fine from the DOT. In 2020, the department fined Dubai Airlines $400,000 for flying a JetBlue codeshare flight in prohibited airspace over parts of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman near Iran. Emirates ultimately only had to pay $200,000 for the order.