The US said Friday it would allow foreign airlines to fly US-made aircraft to Iran, providing greater assurance to aviation companies as Iran tries to re-establish trade and business links following the lifting of sanctions. The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday issued a license allowing US-made planes to have "temporary sojourn" in Iran, meaning airlines such as Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, or others flying frequently to Iran are expressly allowed to use US-made planes, or planes with US parts, to fly there. Iran and world powers reached a deal on Tehran's nuclear program last July that allowed for the lifting of most sanctions on the country, although many US sanctions remain in place. The deal allows for US companies to obtain licenses to sell civil aircraft to Iran, but a proposed deal between Boeing Co. and Iran has drawn the ire of members of the US Congress, who are trying to block it. The license issued on Friday has no impact on the proposed Boeing deal. Because of a quirk in the law, US-made planes could be flown to other countries under U.S. sanction, such as Cuba, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea. Iran was an exception to this, said Jonathan Epstein, an attorney at Holland & Knight in Washington. "Technically there was no legal way to fly to Iran, so US lessors tended to say no, or it caused a lot of angst in the U.S. leasing community that these planes were being flown there," said Epstein, who advises aviation leasing firms on sanctions issues. Practically speaking, many airlines were already flying US-made planes or those using significant amounts of US parts, Epstein said. But Friday's announcement resolved some of the ambiguity surrounding such trips, he said.<br/>
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Screens displaying flight information and the public address system at Vietnam’s two major airports were hacked with derogatory messages against Vietnam and the Philippines in their territorial row against China in the South China Sea. After the hacking Friday evening, authorities switched off the screens and the sound systems at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport and the Tan Son Nhat airport in southern Ho Chi Minh City, the online VnExpress said. The website of the national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, was also briefly hacked, it said. The site quoted Vice Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat as saying the incidents did not affect the security or air traffic control at the airports. The messages and screenshots with derogatory remarks suggested they were purportedly left by Chinese hackers. Earlier this month, an international tribunal issued a ruling in favor of the Philippines that invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea. Vietnam also has overlapping claims to parts of the sea, which is rich in natural resources, and together with the Philippines has been a vocal critic of China. The hacking came after China this week condemned an incident in which a border agent at the Ho Chi Minh City airport allegedly defaced a Chinese passport after images showed the words “f--- you” scribbled twice over maps of the contested South China Sea. Vietnam said it was investigating.<br/>
Dutch police increased security checks at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Saturday after reports of a possible threat were received. Dutch media reported a strong police presence around the airport in response to the unspecified threat as officers searched cars entering the area. KLM in a statement said it regretted the disruption resulting in thousands of bags being left behind at the airport. The airline said the knock-on effects of the disruption will continue in the coming days. Passengers are advised to allow extra time for check-in at Schiphol.<br/>
The EC has found that support granted by Italy's Sardinia region to selected airlines was an unfair advantage, ordering that the money be recovered. The Commission, which rules on issues of state aid in the EU, said that Sardinia had adopted a scheme in 2010 to provide funding to the airports of Cagliari and Olbia to ensure direct air connections throughout the year. The airports in turn compensated selected airlines to increase traffic and carry out related marketing. The Commission concluded that selected airlines received an unfair advantage. The measures were not designed to make the routes profitable without public funding and not restricted to the extra cost of opening new routes. Sardinia, the Commission said, had also not used tender procedures to select the airlines. It concluded that no state aid was granted to the airports because they had passed the money on.<br/>
Fraport is selling part of its stake in Thalita Trading, the operator of Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg to Qatar Investment Authority. Thalita is the parent company of Northern Capital Gateway, which has the 30-year concession for operating Pulkovo. Fraport will reduce its stake in Thalita from 35.5 to 25%. Based on the current book value, Fraport said it expects the profit from the transaction to range between E30m and E40m. Decreasing its shareholding will not affect Fraport’s role as “airport operator” in the consortium, the German company said in a statement.<br/>