FINES UPDATED
February 16, 2015
The following fines were recently issued by DOT:
Southwest Airlines – $1,600,000
On January 15, DOT penalized Southwest Airlines $1.6 million for violation of DOT’s tarmac delay rule and the carrier’s emergency contingency plan. An investigation by the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings showed that between January 2, 2014 and January 3, 2014, sixteen Southwest flights experienced tarmac delays at Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) in excess of three hours. A contributing factor to the delays was a storm which started on December 31, 2013 and lasted through January 2, 2014 resulting in 12.3 inches of snow accumulation. In addition, Southwest experienced a malfunction of its crew scheduling system resulting in an unexpected staff shortage. The shortage hampered Southwest’s ability to clear aircraft from the gate in a timely manner.
Lufthansa – $30,000
DOT recently assessed Lufthansa $30,000 in civil penalties and ordered it to cease and desist from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition in violation of 49 USC § 41712. In response to a consumer complaint, DOT investigated Lufthansa’s website and found evidence that the airline had advertised fares on its U.S. website that could not be purchased on that website. Specifically, for a short period in November 2013, Lufthansa advertised economy fares in its fare matrix for a roundtrip to and from the U.S. In some cases, after selecting an itinerary and continuing through the booking process, the lowest fares that were advertised in the fare matrix were omitted. Therefore, consumers could not purchase the lowest fares that were advertised on the website.
Lufthansa stated that this was due to a technical malfunction (fares for the lowest booking class failed to update during the periodic update to its website) and did not believe that such a malfunction should constitute a violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712. Lufthansa agreed to the settlement offer, but did not waive its legal position on the question.
The following fines were recently proposed by the FAA:
SkyWest Airlines – $450,000
The FAA proposed a civil penalty of $450,000 against SkyWest Airlines for allegedly operating four aircraft on a total of 15 flights when they were not airworthy. The FAA alleges SkyWest failed to perform proper maintenance on air conditioning units in three Bombardier CL-600 jets and on the auxiliary generator in one Embraer EMB-120 turbo-prop plane following pilot reports of problems with those systems. An air conditioning unit failure in the Embraer resulted in the deployment of passenger oxygen masks and an emergency descent, the agency alleges.
Horizon Airlines – $390,000
The FAA proposed a civil penalty of $390,000 against Horizon Airlines for operating six Bombardier DHC-8s that were not airworthy on more than 2,600 flights in 2012 and 2013. Horizon had allegedly not tested and inspected its aircraft transponders every 24 months as required by FAA regulations.
Hallmark Aviation – $275,000
The FAA proposed a civil penalty of $275,000 against Hallmark Aviation Services for alleged violations of drug and alcohol testing regulations. Hallmark is a company that ensures operators have effective security programs in compliance with applicable TSA requirements. The FAA alleged that : (1)Hallmark failed to ensure it had received verified negative drug tests for 57 employees prior to their hire in safety-sensitive functions; (2) 14 employees who performed safety-sensitive duties were not in Hallmark’s random drug and alcohol testing pool at different times in 2013 and 2014; and (3) Hallmark failed to conduct random alcohol tests on any employees who performed safety-sensitive functions. FAA regulations require such tests on at least 10% of those workers.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).