Hyderabad: American carrier Southwest Airlines on Wednesday opened its first global innovation centre outside the United States in Hyderabad, marking a major expansion of its business and technology operations into India.The new facility, which is spread over 20,000 sq ft with a capacity to accommodate around 200 techies, is planned to be scaled up to over 1,000 highly skilled engineers and tech professionals over the next few years as the company ramps up its GCC.
Telangana IT & industries minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu inaugurates American carrier Southwest Airlines’ global innovation centre in Hyderabad
The GCC, to be operated through the carrier’s wholly owned subsidiary, Southwest Airlines India Private Limited, will support engineering, analytics, enterprise technology, cybersecurity, digital platforms and next-generation product development.Southwest said the Hyderabad facility will integrate with its global network and help build capabilities in artificial intelligence, data science, digital engineering and business operations and is part of the carrier’s broader innovation roadmap aimed at improving secure, reliable and efficient airline operations.Inaugurating the facility, Telangana minister for IT and industries Duddilla Sridhar Babu said Southwest’s decision to set up its GIC here reflects Hyderabad’s strategic importance in shaping the future of global mobility, aviation engineering, aerospace and next-gen technology innovation.“More than 25 years ago, Hyderabad laid the foundation for India’s modern aviation ecosystem with one of the country’s first private airport initiatives under the PPP model. Since then, the city has evolved into one of India’s leading aviation, aerospace and space-tech hubs. Alongside prestigious institutions such as DRDO, RCI and DMRL, Hyderabad is steadily emerging as a strategic centre where aviation, space-tech, defence and deep-tech are converging at scale,” he said.The minister said that over the last year alone, several global enterprises have chosen Hyderabad as the location for their first innovation centres in India, reinforcing the city’s growing reputation as a hub for advanced engineering and innovation.Southwest Airlines executive vice president and chief information officer Lauren Woods said the company considered all the top cities in the country for its GCC but finally zeroed in on Hyderabad.“Hyderabad offers one of the deepest analytics, engineering and innovation talent pools in the world, making it an ideal location for the next phase of our journey. Opening our Hyderabad office enables us to expand our global talent network, supporting our business operations and our long-term growth,” she said.“Through our Hyderabad office, we are building capabilities across AI, data, next-generation engineering and other business operations to support Southwest’s global operations, bringing together talent, technology and a shared purpose to help further the next phase of growth,” said Krishna Kallepalli, vice president and global head of innovation, India, at Southwest.