Air Canada has been fined US$250,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation over operating codeshare flights over prohibited Iraqi airspace.
The DOT says from late 2022 to January 2023, Air Canada flew a ‘significant number of flights’ between the UAE and Canada in low altitude airspace the FAA had deemed forbidden to US airlines.
The DOT had jurisdiction to issue the fine as the flights were marketed to customers under a United Airlines designator code.
It says several flights operated even after the agency’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) informed to Air Canada and issued an investigation letter to the airline.
“By operating these flights in this manner,Air Canada violated the conditions of its authority to operate and engaged in air transportation without the proper DOT authority,” the agency said.
US carriers were banned from flying below a certain altitude over Iraqi airspace since October 2020.
Air Canada says it took ‘immediate action’ upon receiving the violation notice.
It claimed the incidents were ‘unplanned, brief and limited in number.’
Air Canada ended its codeshare agreement with United Airlines on the Dubai to Toronto last year.
