The US Department of Transportation has fined Air France and KLM a combined $425,000 for operating more than 130 Delta Air Lines-coded flights below the permitted altitude over Iraq. The flights transited the Baghdad Flight Information Region, where US rules prohibit operations below 32,000 feet because of risks from ground-based weapons and regional conflict. Air France was fined $105,000 and KLM $320,000.
Air France operated more than 30 affected flights between April 2022 and November 2025, while KLM operated more than 100 between January 2022 and May 2025. The FAA restriction applies to foreign airlines when their flights carry the code of a US carrier, extending the compliance obligation beyond US operators.
Both airlines maintained that their crews descended after Iraqi air traffic controllers issued instructions to do so or refused permission to climb because of conflicting traffic. They argued that those circumstances qualified for the rules’ emergency exception, but US authorities did not accept that explanation as removing the carriers’ responsibility. The airlines were ordered to cease further violations.
Of the combined penalty, $265,000 is due within 60 days. The remaining $160,000 is conditional on further violations within one year. The enforcement action concerns repeated altitude breaches and codeshare compliance; there was no reported attack, accident or other security incident involving the flights.