While business aviation’s so-called emerging international markets may have disappointed the industry over the last year or so, the Middle East and North Africa continues to be a glass half full, according to representatives of the region’s bizav community who have made the long trip to Orlando for this week’s NBAA convention.
“The Middle East and North African market is developing well despite everything that is going on there in terms of [political] uprisings and destabilization,” said Ali Alnaqbi, founding chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA).
For now, the bulk of business aviation activity is concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which, respectively, currently account for around 35 percent and 26 percent of the Middle East business aircraft fleet, according to MEBAA. But Alnaqbi was quick to point out that growth is happening in other countries too; notably Morocco and Jordan are also expanding.
“A year ago in Morocco they had almost nothing, just two AOCs [air operator certificates] and a single FBO, with business aviation generally pushed to the side,” Alnaqbi told AIN. The Dubai-based association believes that its MEBAA Show Morocco has been instrumental in raising the profile of business aviation in the North African country. The next event is to be staged in Marrakesh in September 2017.
Marrakesh is one of seven airports in Morocco that is set to get new business aviation facilities, with Jetex building an FBO location. Jetex and Swissport have plans to develop facilities at another half dozen airports, and authorities in the country have started issuing new AOCs to expand the base of operators. MEBAA has been involved in advising Moroccan officials on plans to build a new business aviation airport in between the country’s capital Rabat and its main commercial city Casablanca.
MEBAA also sees progress in Saudi Arabia, where the authorities are now showing a greater understanding of business aviation’s needs and contribution to the country’s economy. Alnaqbi welcomed the appointment this year of Suleiman Al Hamdan as the new minister of transportation, since based on his background with the Saudi civil aviation authority, he has a greater understanding of the industry. In a bid to combat the so-called gray market for illegal charter flights, Saudi Arabia has effectively scrapped all Part 91 aircraft registrations so that all operators have to have a commercial AOC.
“They [Saudi authorities] have opened up the market, which was previously closed to new operators, and now the market there is growing by around 8 or 9 percent each year,” said Alnaqbi. MEBAA held a successful conference in Jeddah, which Alnaqbi said resulted in a greater willingness for local business leaders to speak out candidly on what the industry needs.
The UAE also has seen a more positive approach to the regulation of business aviation, according to MEBAA. The group also takes heart from achievements such as this year’s opening of a new VIP terminal, housing multiple FBOs, at Dubai World Central Airport.
Next month (December 6-8), Dubai is hosting the 7th edition of the biennial MEBAA show. The association is anticipating that the 2016 event will achieve almost 10 percent growth compared with 2014 (when it attracted 8,314 visitors and 422 exhibitors). The static display is set to feature up to 50 aircraft.
On December 3-4, MEBAA visitors will be able to participate in special workshop and auditing sessions for the IS-BAO and IS-BAH standards for, respectively, aircraft operators and handling companies. December 8 will be Futures Day at the show, with a goal of promoting careers in business aviation for young people.
IS-BAO and IS-BAH standards are governed by the Montreal-based International Business Aviation Council, of which MEBAA—with around 250 member companies in some 23 countries---is now a leading component group. MEBAA has a staff of 10 and specialist committees focused on areas such as operations and engineering.
Alnaqbi indicated that MEBAA still has plenty of work to do in opening up opportunity for further business aviation growth across the vast region. For instance, the association is trying to persuade authorities in Qatar to end a policy of allowing only a single AOC holder in the country—namely Qatar Executive, which is part of state-backed airline Qatar Airways. “This is very bad, and we need to convince them [that the lack of competition] is the wrong way,” Alnaqbi stated. The association abandoned plans to hold a conference in the Qatar capital Doha in September.
Despite the challenges still facing the Middle East region, MEBAA (Booth 889) remains overridingly optimistic about prospects for business aviation there. For instance, before Egypt was gripped by political strife, it had one of the largest fleets in that part of the world. “[Following the political upheaval] 90 percent of the aircraft based in Egypt left the country to be based in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, but these same aircraft are still flying,” concluded Alnaqbi.
