Turkey Sees Giant Leap in the Aviation Industry

Istanbul, Turkey | December 16, 2008 by D-8 Secretariat

Turkey’s aviation industry and civil aviation sector had made remarkable progress

Turkish PM Tayyip Erdoğan, French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau and German Minister of State for Europe Günter Gloser attended the signing ceremony of the Airbus-TAI contract to produce ailerons for the A350 aircraft earlier this month.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that Turkey’s aviation industry and civil aviation sector had made remarkable progress over the last few years, a statement that comes on the heels of an agreement signed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Airbus valued at $500 million.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of the TAI Airbus A350 Partnership Agreement at TAI facilities in Ankara, Erdoğan said the $500 million agreement would open for TAI new windows of cooperation with the European aviation industry.

“Our aviation technology has made a giant leap with projects such as aircraft modernization and unmanned aircraft, completely carried out by Turkish engineers, to bring the Turkish defense and aviation industry to the level of an internationally recognized player,” Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan also said the country’s civil aviation sector had made significant progress, with Turkey’s main carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY), having become one of the major airlines in Europe with its fleet, passengers numbers and profitability. “This also shows that Turkey has great potential in the aviation market in its region,” Erdoğan said.

Also attending the ceremony, Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Zafer Cağlayan said the agreement showed the competitive capabilities of the Turkish real sector in a “cruel world of international competition.”

French Transportation Minister Dominique Bussereau said he considered the TAI-Airbus agreement a symbol of a partnership and alliance between Turkey and Europe in the industrial arena.

TAI contracted Airbus to produce ailerons for the A350 aircraft

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Bussereau said a big step had been made in the aviation sector with this agreement between TAI, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and Airbus. “With the agreement signed today, TAI has joined the Airbus family,” he added.

German State Minister for Europe Günter Gloser said this step, made between Europe and Turkey, shows the confidence in Turkish technology. He noted that with this agreement TAI became a strategic partner for Germany and indicated that Germany is now willing to boost its relations with Turkey in the aviation and space industry. “Turkey has come closer to integration with the European Union after today’s agreement,” Gloser said.

Airbus President Thomas Enders said TAI had become a full Airbus partner and noted that TAI would be a partner in the commercial area under this $500 million project. “We have obtained 500 orders for the A350XWB so far. This plane will start to fly in 2012.” EADS President Louis Gallois described the agreement as a “historic incident,” noting that today’s signing ceremony was an important step in strategic cooperation with Turkey.

The A350XWB agreement is the first big civilian project TAI is contributing to with its own technological design.

D-8 Civil Aviation Working Group is currently led by Turkey, and so far has organized a number of Working Group meetings since 2007. D-8 Secretary General, Dipo Alam, cherished this cooperation by saying that this can be a model cooperation also for the rest of member countries in regard to D-8 Civil Aviation. “We will bring up this encouraging news and discuss it in our scheduled working groups in near future,” he said in his office yesterday. He added that the organization is very much pleased by positive efforts from all aviation communities in D-8 countries to support and improve service, production, and business opportunities among memberstates.

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