US government penalises Virgin Atlantic for flying over Iraq

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) on January 17 fined Virgin Atlantic US $1.05 million for operating flights carrying Delta Air Lines’ code DL while flying over Iraq. The penalty was ordered as the carrier was flying “in regions in which a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight prohibition was in effect”, the DOT said. The airline was ordered to cease and desist from future similar violations after an investigation by the department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection found that that between September 16 2020 and September 16 2021, Virgin “operated a significant number of flights carrying the DL code over