IAI's Aviation Group has entered a Line Maintenance agreement with Bahrain's airline Gulf Air. The agreement was inked at a festive ceremony in Israel, attended by Gulf Air Acting CEO, Captain Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi, and IAI EVP and General Manager of Aviation Group, Yosef (Yossi) Melamed, during a visit by a delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Under the contract, the Aviation Group will provide a comprehensive technical response to all of Gulf Air's airplanes expected to land at the Ben Gurion International Airport, including post- and pre-flight services, daily maintenance, and support for any technical issues. IAI's Aviation Group provides Line Maintenance services to some 75% of the airlines that arrive at the Ben Gurion Airport.

Gulf Air Acting CEO, Captain Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi, said, "We took pride in carrying the official delegation that initiated the historic relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and State of Israel; which paved the way for us to start new business relations with our colleagues in the industry, such as that with our friends at Israel Aerospace Industries. We look forward to benefiting from their expertise and the wide technical knowledge they are well-known for in the industry."

IAI EVP and General Manager of Aviation Group, Yosef (Yossi) Melamed, said, "The agreement with Gulf Air is a historic breakthrough for providing line maintenance services to the gulf states as well. The normalization with UAE and the kingdom of Bahrain, that opened up new business opportunities in the world of aviation, will allow us to provide MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) services for more airlines from the region."

IAI's President & CEO, Boaz Levy, said, "IAI sees the normalization between both countries as an opportunity for business and technology partnerships and this agreement is the first in many more to come."