Dallas, TX, Feb. 2, 2012: The Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) Board of Directors - Prasad Thotakura, Taiyab Kundawala, Dr. Tara Kumar Reddy, Raj Asava, Rao Kalvala and Ramki Chebrolu along with the other Indian American community leaders attended the inaugural ceremony of the Emirates flight from Dubai to Dallas held this morning at DFW Airport. The first flight was welcomed by a traditional "shower of affection" water cannon salute in the midst of thunderous applause of several entrepreneurs, community leaders and officials.

His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to USA, Jeff Fegan, CEO of the DFW International Airport, Hon. Betsy Price, Mayor of the Fort Worth City, Nigel Page, Emirates Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations attended the gala celebrations.

"We, the Indian American community welcome the first uniquely equipped Boeing 777 non-stop daily service flight from Dubai to DFW Airport with several connections to Indian cities from Dubai. We used to spend a lot of time in flying from DFW to Houston to Dubai to India and now we can cut short that time by directly flying to Dubai. It certainly increases the trade relations between North Texas and Dubai and India. We have been waiting for this direct connection flight for a long time and finally it happened. We expect other airline carriers also follow the similar path.It is estimated that the Emirates flights produce $227 million in economic impact annually for the Dallas/Fort Worth region in terms of additional visitors, business ties and investments," said Prasad Thotakura, General Secretary, Indian American Friendship Council.

DFW International Airport Located halfway between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW International Airport is the world's fourth busiest, offering nearly 1,750 flights per day and serving 57 million passengers a year. DFW provides nonstop service to 145 domestic and 47 international destinations worldwide. For five consecutive years, DFW has ranked in the top five for customer service among large airports worldwide in surveys conducted by Airports Council International. For the latest news, real-time flight information, parking availability or further details regarding the many services provided at DFW International Airport.

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