Lufthansa is facing a $6.4 million fine from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration for allegedly conducting almost 900 flights that were not compliant with Federal Aviation Regulations.

Lufthansa is alleged to have operated flights to and from San Diego and Philadelphia knowing it lacked FAA authorisation.

Between 22 March 2018 and 27 May 2019, Lufthansa operated 600 Airbus A340 flights between Frankfurt and San Diego and back, and 292 flights from Frankfurt to Philadelphia and back using Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 747-400s between 28 October 2018 and 10 April 2019.

Foreign airlines can only conduct scheduled flights into and out of airports listed in their FAA-issued Operations Specifications, and the FAA alleges neither airport was in Lufthansa’s Operations Specifications.