The U.S. Transportation Department has levied a hefty fine of $1.5 million on Emirates for operating flights in airspace where they were prohibited, carrying the designator code of JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU).

The department revealed that Emirates had conducted a significant number of flights between the United Arab Emirates and the United States from December 2021 to August 2022. These flights, carrying JetBlue's code, were operated in airspace that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had restricted to U.S. operators.

This action also violated a consent order issued in October 2020, which had previously fined Emirates for operating other flights in prohibited airspace, Reuters reported on Friday.

Under the 2020 order, Emirates was directed to pay a fine of $200,000 and an additional $200,000 if it breached the order within a year. If the airline violates the rules again within a year, it could be subjected to another fine of $300,000.

An Emirates spokesperson explained that the airline intended to operate the flights at or above the restricted level. However, in flight, air traffic control either denied clearance to ascend or instructed flights to operate below the level.

"Our pilots duly followed ATC (air traffic control) instructions, a decision which is fully aligned with international aviation regulations for safety reasons," the spokesperson clarified.

The department highlighted that the flights in question had flown through the Baghdad Flight Information Region below certain altitudes. The FAA has prohibited all U.S. air carriers, all U.S. commercial operators, and code shares from operating in this region without special permission.

JetBlue, who ended its code share agreement with Emirates in 2022, is yet to respond to the queries sent by Benzinga.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari