The US Department of Transportation has fined Air France and KLM a total of $425,000 for operating dozens of flights in Iraqi airspace below the minimum safe altitude.
The Federal Aviation Administration has for over six years barred flights over Iraq below 32,000 feet due to conflict and militant threats.
The rule applies to foreign carriers operating with a US airline code, and both Air France and KLM operate Delta Air Lines-coded flights.
USDOT said Friday that Air France operated more than 30 flights and KLM more than 100 flights carrying the Delta code through prohibited airspace over Iraq between early 2022 and 2025.
The airlines must pay $265,000 within 60 days, with the remainder due if they violate again within a year.
Air France and KLM told USDOT they were fully committed to regulatory compliance and took the issue extremely seriously, but said local air traffic controllers had directly instructed crews to descend or refused ascent clearance due to conflicting traffic.
Both argued the flights should fall under the “emergency situations” exemption, citing safety risks of refusing ATC orders.
