WASHINGTON — The US Transportation Department said on Friday it was fining Air France and KLM a total of $425,000 for operating dozens of flights in Iraqi airspace below a minimum altitude intended to protect them from threats from the ground, Reuters reported. Yaani the total penalty is $4.25 lakh, of which $265,000 — yaani $2.65 lakh — must be paid within 60 days, and the remainder will be payable if there are any other violations within one year.

Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits flight operations by US operators in foreign-managed airspace where conflict, militant activity or heightened tensions can threaten flights, and foreign airlines operating flights with a US airline's code must abide by those prohibitions, Reuters said. An FAA order in place for more than six years bars flights over Iraq at altitudes below 32,000 feet. Air France operated more than 30 flights and KLM more than 100 flights carrying the Delta code through FAA-prohibited airspace over Iraq between early 2022 and 2025, the department said: Air France's period was April 2022 to November 2025 and KLM's was January 2022 to May 2025, through the Baghdad Flight Information Region.

Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026

The split of the fine is $105,000 for Air France and $320,000 for KLM, Simple Flying reported, confirming the same altitude, codeshare and flight-count details from the department's action. The department also ordered both carriers to stop further violations, VisaVerge reported, citing the consent orders dated October 23.

Source: Simple Flying, Oct 24, 2026

The airlines did not immediately comment to Reuters, but Air France and KLM told the department they were fully committed to adhering to regulatory requirements at all times and took the issue extremely seriously, Reuters reported. Both said that, due to conflicting traffic, local air traffic controllers had directly instructed their flight crews to descend or refused to allow them to ascend, and that they believed the flights should have fallen under the 'emergency situations' exemption given the safety implications of refusing an air traffic control order. Delta declined to comment, Reuters said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, in remarks carried by VisaVerge: 'If you fly carrying a US code, following our safety rules is not optional.'

Source: VisaVerge, citing US DOT consent orders, Oct 24, 2026