Virgin Atlantic and Sky Team

Skyteam has welcomed Virgin Atlantic as its 19th member.

The now Heathrow-based airline is 49% owned by Delta Airlines, one of the founder members of the worldwide alliance in 2000.  

Membership will bring significant benefits to Virgin Atlantic frequent travellers and easier access to lounges worldwide plus considerable marketing advantages to all the Skyteam carriers.

On the negative side Virgin Atlantic is terminating its Pakistan flights later this year as the airline continues to restructure its route network following the pandemic.  Flights to Lahore will end on 1 May whilst services to Islamabad will continue a while longer, until 9 July.  On what routes the redundant aircraft will be used remains to be seen.  

There are unrelated technical complications due to historical codeshare arrangements highlighted by a US Transportation Department (USDOT) fine of $1.05m for Virgin Atlantic operating in restricted airspace over Iraq.

USDOT has jurisdiction since the flights carried Delta Air Lines' flight code.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a notice prohibiting US carriers from flying over Iraqi airspace without prior approval.

A very recent investigation has found that Virgin Atlantic flew "a significant number" of flights that breached the ban between September 2020 and September 2021. Other airlines are monitoring the position.

The Transportation Department notified the airline of the violation in September 2021 for flights between London and India that flew over Iraq. At the time, other foreign governments permitted flying in Iraqi airspace at high altitudes, with numerous flights over Iraq daily.  

Virgin Atlantic must pay $525,000 in three instalments while the remaining $525,000 is payable only if Virgin Atlantic violates the order’s cease and desist or payment provisions.

Virgin Atlantic told USDOT that upon notification by the US government "it immediately rerouted flights to avoid the airspace in question and informed its board and senior leadership of the issue."

Virgin Atlantic also noted it has invested in Sentinel by Osprey, an automated tool that "dynamically alerts airlines at the flight planning stage or operational stage, of any regulatory restrictions impacting their, or their codeshare partners’ flights."

www.ospreyflightsolutions.com/regulatory-compliance

www.virgin-atlantic.com

www.skyteam.com

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