WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Government has imposed heavy fines on Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways for operating flights carrying a U.S. air carrier's code in prohibited airspace.
The Department of Transportation has fined Ethiopian Airlines $425,000 for operating flights carrying United Airlines' designator code and Etihad Airways $400,000 for operating flights carrying JetBlue Airways' designator code in regions in which a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight prohibition was in effect for U.S. operators.
The Ethiopian, UAE airlines were ordered to cease and desist from future similar violations.?
An investigation by the Department's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) revealed that between February 2020, and December 2022, Ethiopian Airlines operated a significant number of flights carrying the United Airlines code between Ethiopia and Djibouti in airspace prohibited by the FAA to U.S. operators.
A separate OACP investigation revealed that between August 2022 and September 2022, Etihad Airways operated numerous flights carrying the JetBlue Airways code between the United Arab Emirates and the United States in airspace prohibited by the FAA to U.S. operators.
The Department of Transportation said that although OACP notified Etihad Airways of the problematic conduct, the airliner repeated the offence in the same route within months.
OACP learned that between January 2023 and April 2023, Etihad Airways operated several additional flights carrying the JetBlue Airways code between the United Arab Emirates and the United States in airspace prohibited by the FAA to U.S. operators.
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