Emirates Airline postpones launch of world’s longest non-stop flight

03 March 2016 Current Affairs: Emirates Airline, which was scheduled to launch what it called the world’s longest non- stop flight this month between Dubai and Panama City, has said it was postponing those plans for around a year.The launch, which had been slated for March 31, will now occur in late 2016 or early 2017 due to “operational factors,” the Dubai airline said in a statement released.The company had said it would offer a daily flight to Panama’s capital aboard a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, which can also carry up to 15 tonnes of cargo.The company said that upon extensive review, it would now postpone the flight after “considering all operational factors, including fleet utilization and commercial demand.”Among the world’s other longest flights are one connecting Dallas to Sydney (almost 17 hours), Johannesburg to Atlanta (16 hours, 40 minutes), and Dubai to Los Angeles (16 hours 35 minutes).the longest flight, lasting almost 19 hours, linked Singapore and New York and was operated by Singapore Airlines. But it was suspended in 2013 to cut costs.