It’s a tough financial time for two of the biggest airlines in the country. After violating federal safety regulations, US Airways and United Airlines are being charged a combined $9.2 billion by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Each airline has its own rap sheet of infringements, but the bottom line is that safety guidelines were overlooked, and certain air crafts were flown hundreds of times without being given attention.
US Airways will pay $5.4 million for its defiance. The carrier operated eight aircrafts on 1,647 flights from Oct. 2008- Jan. 2009 that were out of compliance of “airworthiness directives” (AD’s) and its maintenance program. After being charged, the US Airways said that the specific regulations were broken when it was integrating new maintenance systems, and has since worked with the FAA to fix the problems.
United has undergone similar infringements, but at a lesser cost. It will pay the FAA $3.8 million for operating a Boeing 737 aircraft on 200 flights while it violated its own maintenance procedures on one of the plane’s engines.
© Cheapflights Ltd Andrea Mooney
