German flag carrier Lufthansa is facing a $6.4 million penalty fine from the Federal Aviation Administration for operating hundreds of unauthorized flights in the US.
The agency alleges Lufthansa operated nearly 900 flights to San Diego and Philadelphia without the necessary permits.
It relates to 600 flights between Frankfurt and San Diego and 292 flights to Philadelphia.
The US airports were not listed in Lufthansa’s FAA-issued Operations Specifications.
"Lufthansa is fully cooperating with the FAA on this matter and will be addressing the regulatory issues involved with the Agency. Lufthansa is globally committed to compliance with all laws and regulations," the airline said.
Safety wasn’t compromised, Lufthansa said, although the FAA said Lufthansa was aware it was operating the flights without full authorization.
While it is a technical breach of the regulations, it doesn’t look good on the FAA’s oversight, allowing so many unauthorized flights to operate unchecked.
