JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) signed two separate contracts with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for joint training.
According to the first contract, the training department of Saudia will be considered an accredited regional training center for IATA, whereas the second contract will initiate a joint partnership between the two parties at foreign training centers, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The two contracts were signed in Jeddah by the director general of Saudia, Khalid Al-Molhem, and the director general and CEO of IATA, Tony Tyler, in the presence of officials of both sides.
A series of topics related to the air transport industry were discussed during the meeting, including boosting relations between Saudia and IATA and the promotion of services and human cadres.
The IATA chief expressed pleasure over the signing of the deals and considered them good steps toward developing the capacity of the aviation sector’s staff in the region. He also appreciated the level of training at Saudia’s training center, which has now become an IATA-accredited training center.
Meanwhile, Saudia’s deputy director general said the two deals were good indicators of the advanced level of Saudia’s training facilities, whether in terms of infrastructure, the proficiency of trainers or the quality of the training curriculums.
Saudia's training center has been selected and approved to offer training programs on such diverse topics as booking, sales, cargo, management, finance, and the English language. IATA will also accept certificates issued by Saudia training centers, inside and outside the Kingdom, he said.
Al-Molhem said Saudia has always paid due attention to training programs with a view to keeping pace with international standards, which comes within the framework of the air airline’s efforts to provide high-caliber cadres and the company’s belief that the human element is the decisive factor in achieving success in the face of the increased competitiveness between international airlines.
Saudia, IATA sign training deals
