Air India pays tributes to Guru Nanak Dev on his 550th birth anniversary in this unique way

To mark Sikh Guru Nanak Dev's 550th birth anniversary, national carrier Air India has put up the religious symbol 'Ik Onkar' on one of its aircrafts, which operated its maiden flight to Stansted in the UK from Amritsar today at 3 am. The national carrier has never carried any religious symbol on its planes, barring paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary earlier on October 2, when an image of the Father of the Nation was painted on an AI Airbus A320 aircraft flying on the Delhi-Mumbai route.

Notably, ‘Ik Onkar’ is the key tenet of Sikh religious philosophy, saying ‘God is one’. An emblem of Sikh religion, the symbol is is found on Gurdwaras across the world.

The new Air India service, operated by a 256-seater wide-body Boeing 787 aircraft, will facilitate Sikh pilgrims visiting Punjab to celebrate Guru Nanak Dev's 550th birth anniversary. Earlier on October 28, an Air India spokesperson said that the first Mumbai-Amritsar-Stansted flight will operate on the intervening night of 30 and 31 October.

Air India also tweeted to mark the occasion saying "#FlyAI: Air India counters at @amritsarairport all decked up for inaugural flight AI165 to @STN_Airport. Passengers of this flight will fly in @Boeing 787 painted with "IK ONKAAR (ੴ )" as part of the historic celebrations on the #550thPrakashPurb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji."

#FlyAI : Air India counters at @amritsarairport all decked up for inaugural flight AI165 to @STN_Airport. Passengers of this flight will fly in @Boeing 787 painted with "IK ONKAAR (ੴ )" as part of the historic celebrations on the #550thPrakashPurb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. pic.twitter.com/dSOrNsA5He

— Air India (@airindiain) October 30, 2019

It earlier tweeted, #FlyAI: Air India VT-ANQ @Boeing 787, with "EK ONKAAR" painted on its tail wing, is all set to fly for @STN_Airport from @amritsarairport, just a few hours from now. This is Air India's humble tribute to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Shri #GuruNanakDev Ji." 

#FlyAI: Air India VT-ANQ @Boeing 787, with "EK ONKAAR (ੴ )" painted on its tail wing, is all set to fly for @STN_Airport from @amritsarairport, just a few hours from now. This is Air India's humble tribute to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Shri #GuruNanakDev Ji. pic.twitter.com/GkdNdhrtdF

— Air India (@airindiain) October 30, 2019

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also appreciated Air India's move, and tweeted, "The Air India aircraft with 'Ek Onkar' the essential message of Sikhism is ready & raring to soar high on its inaugural Sri Amritsar Sahib-London Stansted flight from tomorrow."

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also hailed the Air India's gesture, tweeting as "Heartwarming to see ‘Ik Onkar’ painted on the tail of @airindiain’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner as part of the historic celebrations on the #550thPrakashPurb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji."

A PTI report quoted Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani as saying “We thought that Guru Nanak Dev's 550th birth anniversary is a good opportunity to launch such a flight.” “The exterior of a flight is very unique. An aircraft flies all over the country and all over the world. So the exterior part of the aircraft can be utilised for conveying things about India,” Lohani added.

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Air India will reportedly fly its aircraft thrice a week on the Mumbai-Amritsar-Stansted route.