Flying Over Iraq, Virgin Atlantic Aviation Airlines Fined IDR 15 Billion

JAKARTA - The United States Department of Transport (USDOT) said on Tuesday it had fined Virgin Atlantic airline $1.05 million, or around Rp. 15,816,465,000, for flying in banned airspace over Iraq on many occasions.

USCOT has jurisdiction because flights carry the code Delta Air Lines.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a notice prohibiting US airlines from flying over Iraqi airspace without prior approval.

The investigation found Virgin Atlantic flying "a number" of flights that violated the ban between September 2020 and September 2021, USDOT said, adding the airline was ordered to stop future abuses.

Virgin Atlantic said on Tuesday, "as soon as we find out about this compliance issue by the DOT, our codeshare flight route will be repaired soon."

USCOT notified airlines of the breach in September 2021 for flights between London and India flying over Iraq. At the time, other foreign governments allowed flying over Iraqi airspace at altitude, with many flights over Iraq every day.

Virgin Atlantic has to pay $55,000 in three installments. while the remaining 525,000 US dollars can only be paid if Virgin Atlantic violates orders or payment terms.

In March 2020, the FAA issued a notice banning flight operations at all altitudes, due to "an increase in militia activity and tensions in Iraq".

USDOT said Virgin Atlantic had informed the agency that "forbidden flights were accidental, caused by operational disruptions and personnel loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Virgin Atlantic told USDOT that following a notification by the US Government, "they immediately diverted flight routes to avoid the airspace in question and notified its senior council and leadership of the matter."

Virgin Atlantic also noted that it had used handed by Osprey, an automated tool that "dynamically notified airlines at the flight planning stage or operational stage of all regulatory restrictions affecting their flights, or codeshare partners."