Lufthansa likely was caught because of a random inspection or because it experienced an incident at one of the locations that was brought to the attention of authorities. The FAA said Lufthansa conducted about 600 unauthorized flights with Airbus A340 aircraft from Frankfurt to San Diego and about 292 flights to Philadelphia with Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft without pre-approval. "Lufthansa is fully cooperating with the FAA on this matter and will be addressing the regulatory issues involved with the Agency," the company said in a statement. "Lufthansa is globally committed to compliance with all laws and regulations. There are no allegations raised by the FAA that the security or safety of any flights was compromised in any respect. The safety and security of our passengers remains the highest priority of the Lufthansa Group."