The Transportation Department on Thursday fined Qatar Airways $185,000 for operating
American Airlines codeshared flights over Iraqi, Yemeni and Ukrainian airspace
in late 2014 and early 2015.
The U.S. prohibits flights over those warring countries and
the prohibition applies to foreign carriers as long as they are partnering on
the flight with a U.S. airline.
The fine resulted from 16 flights operated by Qatar, eight
of which went into Yemeni airspace, seven of which entered Iraqi airspace and
one of which clipped the boundary of Ukrainian airspace.
Since its last violation in early 2015, Qatar has
implemented an advanced flight-watch system that allows officers to track
flights around the globe, the DOT said.