Winter 2015


Private Aviation & Premium Travel
Dubai signals business ambitions


The 2014 edition of the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show witnessed key deals and announcements that signalled Dubai’s ambitions as a business aviation hub in the region.

Organised by F&E Aerospace of behalf of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), the show was held from December 8 to 10 at Dubai World Central (DWC), the purpose-built ‘aerotropolis’ in Dubai, UAE.

It attracted as many as 8,314 visitors and 422 exhibitors while featuring 44 aircraft on static display.

MEBAA expects the business aviation market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region to grow to $1.3 billion by 2020.

MEBAA Chairman Ali Al Naqbi said that as the show goes from strength to strength, the association would now be launching a Moroccan edition this year named MEBAA Show Morocco, which would be the first business aviation show in the country, while the next Dubai show would be renamed MEBAA Show 2016 “to avoid confusion”. 

The most significant announcement was the news that Dubai had started construction of an executive jet terminal at DWC, which will cater exclusively to business aviation.

DWC is also home to the Dubai’s second international airport – Al Maktoum International – which will be the largest in the world upon completion of multi-billion-dollar expansion, with a capacity of over 200 million passengers a year.

Covering an area of 6,000 sq m, the executive terminal is sited at DWC’s aviation district and is scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of this year.

The facility will host Jet Aviation, XJet, and Jetex as key fixed-based operators (FBOs).

The aviation district is a 6.7-sq-km master planned district within the aerotropolis, and adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport. Beyond its aviation focus, the district will also offer zones for sectors such as hospitality, education, research and development, and mixed-use development.

Rashed Bu Qara’a, Chief Operating Officer, Dubai Aviation City Corporation, said: “DWC is partnering with industry leaders to build a complete ecosystem for a world-class aerotropolis, and the Executive Terminal is a step in the right direction. DWC’s Aviation District enables the seamless functioning of FBOs and is, therefore, ideally placed to host a project of this magnitude.”

Other key features of the terminal will include dedicated facilities for customs, immigration and police, separate drop-off and executive lounge areas to ensure full privacy, as well as walkable, direct access to the apron.

Services at the executive terminal will be supported by a $80-million VIP completions centre being built by Falcon Aviation, which will be ready by the end of 2015.

Falcon Aviation, meanwhile, broke ground on its VIP completions centre at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the show.

Spread across 13,705 sq m, the facility will provide customised services to VIP customers and will also feature a state-of-the-art hangar equipped to accommodate up to an Airbus A380 superjumbo jet.

In addition, it will offer VIP lounges, workshops, offices, and an in-house design studio for its clientele.

Falcon Aviation Chairman Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan says: “We are proud to offer the first facility of its kind in the Middle East. With the boom of the aviation industry in the Middle East, the opening of such facilities puts the region at the leading edge of aerospace technology. Falcon Aviation not only fills a niche in the VIP completions market, providing an exclusive service to aircraft owners and operators in the Middle East, it brings the UAE closer to becoming the global trade hub of the world.”

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation, says the significance of the project is evident not only in the investment behind it but also the purpose it serves.

“DWC’s Aviation District is ideally placed to host a project of this scale in that it is well equipped with world-class infrastructure and facilities to support the aviation business, whether it is MROs (maintenance, repairs and operations), FBOs, aircraft manufacturing or training, research and development,” says Sheikh Ahmed, who is also Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates airline and Group and President of Dubai’s Department of Civil Aviation.

Falcon Aviation has partnered with global leaders for the development of the centre including Bombardier, Integrated Aerospace Alliance, CDG and Rockwell Collins.

Another key deal came from France’s STTS Group, which said it would build a $40-million aircraft painting facility at DWC that will cater to narrow-body airlines, VIP aircraft as well as business jets. The business case could develop into a capacity to service wide-body aircraft, including the A380.

Scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2017, it will be the Middle East’s first, independent aircraft facility to use state-of-the-art OEM-approved painting technology. It will be built to handle 25 wide-body aircraft and 35 narrow-body aircraft on an annual basis.

Also, air charter specialist Global Jet Centre DWC, officially launched operations at the show, a year after setting up operations at DWC.

The company says it is well placed to taking advantage of the region’s booming business aviation sector as it provides “a wide scope of flexible and fitting air charter solutions for a worldwide customer base”.

Almost twice the size of Hong Kong, at 145 sq km, DWC has been designed as a self-sustained economic zone with the airport in the centre surrounded by businesses, trade facilities, customised transportation links, residential offerings and the home of Expo 2020. The eight districts comprising DWC are logistics, aviation, residential, commercial, humanitarian, exhibition, golf and the airport, itself.





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