The U.S. Transportation Department announced on Thursday that Emirates has been fined $1.5 million for operating flights with JetBlue Airways’ designator code in prohibited airspace. Between December 2021 and August 2022, Emirates conducted numerous flights carrying the JetBlue code between the United Arab Emirates and the United States through airspace restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for U.S. operators. This action also violated a previous consent order from October 2020, which had fined Emirates for similar infractions and stipulated further penalties if repeated within a year.
Emirates, in response, stated that while the intention was to operate these flights above the restricted altitude, air traffic control (ATC) instructions often necessitated operating below the prohibited level. An Emirates spokesperson explained that their pilots adhered to ATC directives, which align with international aviation safety regulations. JetBlue, whose code-sharing agreement with Emirates ended in 2022, declined to comment. The Transportation Department indicated that the flights in question traversed the Baghdad Flight Information Region below the FAA-specified altitudes, posing potential safety risks. Emirates noted that they no longer operate flights with U.S. carrier codes over Iraqi airspace and emphasized their commitment to passenger and airspace user safety.