Iran said on Saturday that the United States has allowed Boeing to have direct talks with Iranian airliners following reports that a Boeing delegation will visit the country, the official IRNA news agency reported. The report quoted Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation, as saying “Boeing intends to launch its talks with Iranian companies with permission from the US government.” Abedzadeh said Boeing has provided an Iranian airline with, “some technical issues to upgrade flight safety.” He did not elaborate. He also said Iran has “appropriate offers” from aeroplane manufacturers in Brazil, Canada and Japan for both leasing and selling aeroplanes to Iran. On Friday, IRNA said a delegation from Boeing will visit the country to review “possible cooperation” with Iranian airlines. It said officials from Iran’s national carrier, Iran Air, and other Iranian airlines will meet the Boeing delegation.<br/>
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The embattled police chief who oversees aviation officers at Chicago's two airports is stepping down. Richard Edgeworth, the subject of a CNN investigation into why his officers could not carry guns or respond to an active shooter, will leave the Chicago Department of Aviation on April 15, according to his resignation letter. "It has truly been an honor and privilege to serve," the letter says. "As a team, we have demonstrated day-in and day-out why our Chicago Airport System is the best. You are the 'A team.' "Officers at O'Hare International and Midway International airports took a vote of no confidence against Edgeworth last year, saying morale had plummeted under his leadership. CNN revealed in December that the aviation police officers were not allowed to carry guns. The officers were also told to "run and hide" in the event of an active shooter at the airports. Several aviation police officers told CNN that the policy put them in danger and also compromised overall safety. Many of the officers work at suburban police departments or are military veterans with combat training.<br/>
Airbus Group temporarily lost export-credit guarantees from Germany and France, a week after the UK halted support for financing new planes, putting strain on some potential buyers. UK Export Finance said last week it would suspend support for Airbus after the planemaker informed regulatory authorities of “inaccuracies” in a number of applications. The suspension will remain in place until the company provides “satisfactory” assurances over its dealings with “overseas agents.” Airbus spokesman Rainer Ohler said today German, French and UK export agencies typically act in concert. Germany’s federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy said it is undertaking its own investigation, with Airbus cooperating. Applications for new export credit guarantees in Germany are suspended pending completion of the evaluation. Germany hasn’t yet determined whether existing guarantees by its government for commercial loans offered to help finance Airbus planes would be affected. If existing loans are affected, that could endanger shipments of Airbus planes whose sales required financing backed with government guarantees.<br/>
Airlines are looking again at a distinction that had almost become dubious in recent years: the world’s longest flights. Emirates Airline started flying nonstop to Auckland, New Zealand from its Dubai hub last month. The flight, which lasts more than 17 hours, is now the world’s longest, ahead of Qantas Airways’ Dallas-Sydney route. Ultralong flights are back in favor as airlines look to make the most of fuel prices hovering near multiyear lows and newer generation planes that are more fuel efficient, enabling them to tap passenger preferences for nonstop routes, despite the hours in the sky and fuel they consume. United has announced a nonstop flight between Singapore and San Francisco starting June. Qatar Airways has announced services that include an Auckland-Doha route, which will be longer than the Emirates flight when it starts later this year. Such routes remain expensive because aircraft need to burn fuel just to carry the weight of the extra fuel carried for a long flight. Extra crew, food, and drinks for the longer journey add to the weight. SIA operated the world’s longest flights for several years until it stopped nonstop services to Los Angeles and Newark in 2013, citing high fuel prices. However, it last year announced it would be the launch customer of a new variant of the Airbus Group A350 jet that will allow it to resume nonstop flights to the US that will last more than 18 hours. The new Emirates Auckland-Dubai route uses Boeing Co.’s 777-200LR jet, currently the most popular aircraft for ultralong flights where LR stands for long range.<br/>
A lawsuit filed last week claims that thousands of Muslim Americans, among them a 4-year old, have been unfairly put on a federal watch list designed to screen potential terrorists. The class-action complaint criticizes the Terrorist Screening Database, a list of about 1.5m people overseen by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center. It's one of several lawsuits that have been filed in recent years challenging the list, saying that it's unconstitutional in how it's compiled and used. The lawsuit was filed by the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic two Michigan lawyers and an attorney in Washington against the FBI center and other federal agencies. More than half the 18 plaintiffs listed in the complaint live in southeastern Michigan. "Our federal government is imposing an injustice of historic proportions upon ... thousands," says the lawsuit filed Tuesday in US District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia, which is where the list is compiled. "Through extra-judicial and secret means, the federal government is ensnaring individuals. ... The secret federal watch list is the product of bigotry and misguided, counterproductive zeal." In addition to being unable to fly in some cases, Muslims are being jailed, interrogated and threatened by federal agents, the lawsuit alleges. In other cases, FBI agents pressure people on the list to become informants if they want to get off the list, the complaint says. Another problem is the lack of redress, with many Muslims unable to get off the list and unsure how they got on it, plaintiffs said.<br/>