Qatar Airways has been fined $185,000 by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for airspace violations.
The airline was penalised for operating flights in regions in which a Federal Aviation Administration flight prohibition was in effect while carrying the American Airlines (AA) code, the DOT said in a statement.
Under a statement of authorisation permitting Qatar Airways to carry the American Airlines’ designator code (AA), the Gulf carrier is obliged to comply with all FAA flight prohibitions.
It is a violation of the statement of authorisation for a foreign carrier carrying a US carrier code to operate any flight that enters, departs, or transits the airspace of an area for which the FAA has issued a flight prohibition.
However, an investigation by the department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings revealed that in late 2014 and early 2015, certain Qatar Airways flights carrying the AA code operated in foreign airspace while an FAA flight prohibition was in effect, the statement said.
Hence Qatar Airways operated in violation of the conditions of its statement of authorisation and in violation of federal law, the DOT said.