Business aviation flights in Saudi Arabia increased by 6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016, the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) said.

The statistics from WINGX were revealed at MEBAA Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, held last Monday, where key players in the business aviation industry gathered to hear from speakers regarding the challenges facing the industry.

“Business aviation is an expanding market in the Middle East,” MEBAA founding Chairman Ali Al Naqbi told delegates at the event. “According to WINGX business aviation flights from Saudi Arabia in particular increased 13.8 per cent year-on-year in 2014 and 14.7 per cent to 2015. The first quarter of 2016 shows that flights are still increasing in the region, with the trend extending into this year.”

“As an organisation, MEBAA aims to provide the platform for the industry to meet and grow and by working with WINGX to discover specific regional trends and data, we are able to provide dedicated information that provides value to our members.”

There were almost 3,500 business jet flights from Saudi Arabia in 2015, with over 80 per cent of them taking off from King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, and King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. The most popular city pairs included Le Bourget in Paris, London Luton and London Stansted.

Speaking at the event, Ahmed Al Ansari, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Dubai South, quoted a Bombardier market forecast stating that the Middle East will be the fastest developing region for business aviation in the world with fleet growth of 7 per cent by 2030. 

“With its high concentration of high net worth individuals, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most promising of the GCC markets in terms of this demand. In addition, private jet usage in KSA is also higher than the global and regional average,” he said.

Al Ansari noted that as the Gulf countries diversify, the resulting increase in trade and business will attract more air traffic. He highlighted that with that comes the need for greater infrastructure, airport capacity and airport access for private jets to accommodate the growth in the business aviation.

More than 100 attendees to the event discussed challenges and opportunities to the business aviation market with panels led by industry leaders bringing new insights to the crowd. Alnaqbi himself looked at the challenges of dealing with the unlicensed grey market, which has posed a threat to the industry for some time, with MEBAA spearheading the drive to eradicate it.

Other panellists included Daniel Hawes, Aviation & Specialties Practice Leader, Willis Saudi Arabia Company, Ruedi Kraft, Vice President Business Development, Jet Aviation, and Faisal Alsaddik, Executive Chief Commercial Affairs, Saudia Private Aviation.

The keynote address was delivered by Captain Abdulhakim Albadir, Assistant President, Safety, Security and Air Transport, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

The next MEBAA conferences for this year are to take place in Qatar on September 21 and Dubai, UAE on December 5.

MEBAA is the official representative of the business aviation industry in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and is a member of the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). MEBAA is a non-profit association established in 2006 with the mission to provide a platform for members of the business aviation industry in the Mena region to gather, understand and communicate the needs and benefits of the industry.

Today, MEBAA represents over 245 companies within the region and provides a number of products and services to its members, including the MAIS (MEBAA Aviation Insurance Scheme) insurance scheme for operators. 

In addition to various networking events, MEBAA hosts the MEBAA Show in Dubai, which ranks as one of the three largest business aviation shows in the world and MEBAA Show Morocco, which take place biennially in alternate years.