US DOT fines Ethiopian and Etihad for carrier code violations
December 13, 2024
The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) has imposed fines on Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways for operating flights with US designations through prohibited regions during codeshare operations. Both carriers continued their “problematic conduct” despite having been informed in writing of the ongoing issue.
Between February 2020 and December 2022, an investigation by the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OCAP) revealed that Ethiopian operated “a significant number of flights” carrying the United Airlines code between Ethiopia and Djibouti. One of these prohibited flights superseded a previous OCAP investigation to Ethiopian Airlines regarding this issue.
“By operating these flights in this manner, Ethiopian Airlines violated the conditions of its authority to operate and engaged in air transportation without the proper DOT authority,” concluded the department, which imposed a $425,000 fine.
A separate investigation – culminating in a $400,000 fine against Etihad Airways – saw the UAE flag carrier operating “numerous flights carrying the JetBlue Airways code” between the United Arab Emirates and the US in airspace prohibited by the FAA to US operators. These took place between August and September 2022. Again, several additional flights continued to run (operating between January and April 2023) despite the OCAP having notified Etihad of the previous “problematic conduct”.
Earlier this year, the US Dot also fined Emirates $1.8 million for carrying JetBlue Airways’ designated code through prohibited airspace between the UAE and the US; conduct violating a previous consent order issued in October 2020 for a similar offence.
