A three-day, international aviation conference held by Turkey's national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, began in Istanbul yesterday.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Global Training Partner Conference is being held at the Turkish Airlines Turkish Aviation Academy.

According to a statement from the airline, the academy was initially founded to meet the training needs of Turkish Airlines personnel, and has since become the most preferred training center for many companies both in the region and globally.

"Its sectoral training activities have been ongoing for more than 30 years with expert teaching staff and high-quality approach to education," the company said.

In the opening speech for the conference, Turkish Airlines' Chairman İlker Aycı said: "Turkish Airlines steadily keeps rising in global aviation and we are so pleased to host such a significant event in our hub, Istanbul, which his in an unmatched geographical position.

"We believe that this conference will provide significant added value to Turkish civil aviation, while strengthening the fact of being a prominent learning and innovation center in its region."

Rafael Schvartzman, IATA's regional vice president for Europe, said that IATA is proud of its role in coordinating the training of more than 100,000 aviation professionals worldwide a year. "We thank Turkish Airlines for their support for this year's Global Training Partners Conference," Schvartzman said. "The commitment shown by Turkish Airlines to the success of this event shows once again the importance they attach to ensuring their employees maximize their potential," he added.

More than 200 representatives from 60 countries are participating in the conference, the statement said. The airline said that over 450 IATA global training partners are evaluated on various criteria and the excellence of these training partners contributes significantly to the development of the next generation of professionals.

"Having delivered more than 50 IATA training programs to thousands of participants in the past two years, the Turkish Airlines Aviation Academy is one of the top regional training partners worldwide and has been granted the title of IATA Premier Circle Member for the third consecutive time by keeping up the same trend in 2018," the company added.