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17th December 2023,Surat: After Surat Airport recives the International airport status by MoCA, Air India Express started the first direct flight between Surat and Dubai. The same day the new international terminal of Surat Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The airline’s inaugural flight from Surat to Dubai, IX 173, took off on Sunday at 11:40 Hrs., carrying 171 guests. This historic moment was marked by Aloke Singh, Managing Director of Air India Express, presenting the first boarding pass of the flight to the guests at the airport. “Surat holds great importance for Air India Express as we expand our network on the back of a new fleet, and I am delighted that we are part of the moment when Surat International Airport is growing and unveiling its new terminal. Air India Express is committed to fueling the growth story of Surat, as we connect the City of Diamonds to the City of Gold with this historic flight,” Singh said. Currently, Air India Express stands as the exclusive airline facilitating international flights from Surat, with a frequency of five weekly flights to Sharjah. The airline has announced the schedule for the four weekly operations on the Surat-Dubai route, and bookings can be made through the award-winning app and website airindiaexpress.com, as well as other major booking platforms. In addition to Sharjah and Dubai, AIX operates daily flights to Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata. With the introduction of the new service, AIX will be operating 30 flights to and from Surat, solidifying its position as an important destination within the continually expanding Air India Express network.

Istanbul, 15th Nov 2023: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch have welcomed a momentous deal for Airbus to provide 220 aircraft for Turkish Airlines, which will be worth billions of pounds to the UK. The deal includes 150 A321 aircraft and 70 A350 family aircraft, the engines for which will be provided by Rolls-Royce. The agreement announced by the companies in Istanbul will support thousands of high-skilled jobs across the UK, helping to boost exports and grow the economy. A significant portion of the manufacturing process for the new aircraft is expected to take place in the UK. All the wings will be designed in Filton, Bristol, and assembled in North Wales, supporting hundreds of manufacturing jobs in the UK aerospace supply chain. The new A350 aircraft will also be exclusively powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, which are assembled and tested in Derby, and will deliver 25 percent lower CO2 emissions compared to previous generation aircraft. In 2022 the UK’s world-class aerospace sector contributed £10.9 billion to the UK economy, exported around 70 percent of its domestic output and directly employed 108,000 high-skilled people, 90 percent of which are outside London and the South East. It is also a leading sector for high value apprenticeships, with 5,200 currently employed in sector. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said,“This landmark deal between Turkish Airlines, Airbus and Rolls-Royce demonstrates that the sky’s the limit for the UK’s thriving aerospace sector.Meeting the growing demand in aviation will create better-paid jobs and new opportunities in manufacturing hubs from Derby to Wales, so we can continue growing the economy – helping to deliver on my five priorities for the country.The UK is already a top investment destination, and by strengthening trade ties with growing economic powers like Turkey we will ensure UK businesses remain at the forefront of global growth and innovation as we build on the record-breaking Global Investment Summit we hosted in London last month.” Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said,“This is a big win for the UK’s world-leading aerospace sector and one that will help secure high-skilled jobs across the country and drive economic growth.This deal is just the latest in a long line of wins for UK manufacturing, following Nissan’s £2 billion investment in electric vehicle production in Sunderland and Tata committing £4 billion in a new UK gigafactory.These successes show our plan for British manufacturing is working, and our recently released Advanced Manufacturing Plan will ensure the wins keep coming.” The Government has and continues to provide financial support to Airbus and Rolls-Royce to develop their civil aircraft and Trent engine families respectively, through the £1.37 billion government-industry Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, keeping the UK at the forefront of global aerospace innovation. Rolls-Royce plc CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said,“Today’s announcement marks an exciting and truly historic day for Rolls-Royce. It is proof that the actions we are taking to transform Rolls-Royce into a high performing and competitive company underpinned by profitable growth are working.The Trent XWB is the perfect engine platform to support Turkish Airlines as it continues to grow. This order will make Turkish Airlines the largest Trent XWB operator in the world, and I would like to thank them for putting their trust in Rolls-Royce. Türkiye is a strategically important market for us, and it is imperative to develop long-term partnerships with the airline and other important Turkish stakeholders. We look forward to working with Turkish Airlines as they continue to connect their passengers across global communities and cultures.”

Gurugram, 15th December 2023: Air India has received the DGCA approval for engineering line maintenance of A350 and A320 aircraft. This is a major step forward in ensuring the smooth operation and maintenance of the six A350 aircraft which is set to join the Air India fleet, with the first one expected to land by the month end. Along with this key approval, Air India engineers also received the DGCA certification for attending to any work related to the maintenance of A350 aircraft. Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) 145 provides certification to ensure that the processes, systems, and controls at the MRO have been thoroughly reviewed, evaluated, and tested by the regulatory body i.e. the DGCA and is certified to have the capability to perform maintenance tasks safely and effectively conforming to all the airworthiness requirements. “This approval will further inspire us to ensure smooth operation of our fleet, including, of course, the A350, with the highest technical despatch reliability,” said S.K. Dash, Chief Technical Officer, Air India. Air India is the first Indian airline to induct the technologically advanced A350 into its operations. The Engineering team of Air India has been gearing up to welcome the A350 aircraft and ensure that all necessary checks, maintenance, and repairs is available from the outset in the Air India facilities itself. The Engineering teams comprising Air India, Vistara, and AIX Connect representatives have successfully completed training at the Airbus centre in Toulouse. Specialized courses on Structure Assessment and Engine Run Up have been conducted, enhancing the team’s expertise in handling the A350. Senior executives from the Engineering department have undergone A350 General Familiarization Course to ensure comprehensive domain knowledge and understanding of the aircraft. Besides the engineers, technicians have received extensive training in General Familiarization to ensure smooth servicing and operation of the A350 aircraft. In collaboration with SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), Air India has been ensuring that its aircraft engineers have a hands-on experience of scheduled maintenance activities, turn-around inspections, and other essential orientation to have an immersive experience to handle the requirements of the A350 aircraft before it starts joining the fleet. Besides, the engineers have been participating in workshops on A350 for a comprehensive familiarity with the aircraft.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 8th December 2023: Turkish Airlines (TK) and Riyadh Air (RX) have agreed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding to offer a comprehensive range of benefits for guests traveling between the Kingdom, Türkiye and points beyond their Riyadh and Istanbul hubs, as well as lay the ground for deeper future collaborations. Guest of both airlines will be able to take full advantage of each carrier’s worldwide network through a comprehensive interline and codeshare agreement that will allow customers to seamlessly connect between and combine sectors operated by either Riyadh Air or Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines Chief Investment & Technology Officer Levent Konukcu and Riyadh Air CEO, Tony Douglas, signed the agreement at a ceremony on the sidelines of the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Event (ICAN 2023) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The intention of both carriers is that benefits will be made available to guests as soon as possible after Riyadh Air launches operations in mid-2025 and is subject to regulatory approvals by relevant authorities. The close cooperation will allow members of each carrier’s loyalty program to earn points or credits when traveling on codeshare services operated by the other, with both airlines also exploring opportunities to develop a broader loyalty agreement covering both global networks. In addition to offering a comprehensive range of guest benefits, the MoU also commits Riyadh Air and Turkish Airlines to work together to explore and implement broader synergies and efficiencies across the value chain, touching areas such as aviation related services, cargo and digital development. Turkish Airlines Chief Investment & Technology Officer, Levent Konukcu stated: “We are happy to start our relationship with Riyadh Air, a promising new player in the aviation industry. This Memorandum of Understanding is more than a collaboration; it’s a bridge between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, further strengthening our ties. It’s also an opportunity to expand our reach and offer our guests more choices and convenience. We believe this partnership will not only benefit our customers but also contribute significantly to the tourism and business sectors of both countries.” Riyadh Air CEO, Tony Douglas said: “This agreement is another very significant step in the evolution of Riyadh Air as we partner with the world’s largest global airline by destinations served. Our close relationship will open up seamless connectivity via the global-leading hub at Istanbul Airport to some 130 destinations worldwide, especially within Türkiye, Europe and the Americas and accelerate our network footprint through the market-leading, guest-centric, digitally focused and like-minded global airline brand that is Turkish Airlines.” Douglas added, “Bilateral agreements with established network airlines are extremely important to Riyadh Air and there are significant benefits to this partnership, our passengers can enjoy greater connectivity to the world and deeper access to Türkiye, while an increased flow in volumes of tourism, religious and business travel into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is anticipated. Turkish Airlines is a world class aviation brand, and we are proud that they wish to play a part in the Riyadh Air story.” The establishment of Riyadh Air is in line with PIF’s mandate to unlock the capabilities of key sectors locally to drive the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy. The airline will also support the Saudi Aviation Strategy’s broader vision, and enable the National Tourism Strategy, unlocking Saudi Arabia’s cultural and natural attractions to international tourists and creating new jobs.