Draft policies and procedures which will govern the regulation of the business aviation sector in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are expected to be thrashed out at the Middle East Business Aviation Conference to be held in Dubai prior to the Middle East Business Aviation show (MEBA) in December next year.
He said the introduction of policies and procedures had been on MEBAA’s agenda for some time and the December MEBAC would be a seminal turning point in their drafting.
“The conference will tackle the issue of the grey market and we need a mechanism to fight this and the policies and procedures will assist. We have been working with the authorities on their introduction with the UAE and Saudi Arabia readying for their imposition.
“It will be good news all round and we will be taking into consideration the views of local and international experts. The move can only grow the market because it will make all the operators and owners who are so far hesitant to come to the region because of the lack of regulation, to bring their aircraft here and there will be significant uplift in executive jet movements.”
Al Naqbi said to date 530 business jets are registered in the Middle East. “There are many more of course, but we only count the registered ones,” he added. “We are currently experiencing regional growth of around 12% and expect this to lift to between 13-15% next year.”
MEBAC Dubai 2014 will run alongside the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show, scheduled to run at the Dubai World Central aerotropolis from 8 to 10 December 2014 with organisers, F&E Aerospace, reporting strong, early-day uptake for space.
“Just over a year out and more than half the show is either booked or reserved,” Michele van Akelijen, Managing Director, F&E Aerospace, said.
“We are looking for overall show expansion of 20% given the strength of the market forces in the region and will look to specifically grow the helicopter segment.”
Returning to MEBAA 2014 will be the Luxury Pavilion which was an immediate hit when it debuted at the 2012 event.
“Feedback on this initiative from VIP visitors, manufacturers and sector suppliers was excellent – giving us the confidence to go forward and grow this segment of the show,” van Akelijen, added.