The evils posed by the gray market, the disconnect between regional operators and regulators as they attempt to curb it, and the problem of perception for business aviation in the Middle East, dominated the discussion at the second biennial MEBA Conference (MEBAC), which convened at the Dubai Marina on the eve of the show.

The region is still grappling with how to tackle the scourge of the gray market, in which an aircraft operates outside the terms of its AOC and legitimate operators see earnings whittled away by fly-by-night operators cutting corners and failing to provide proper insurance.

Outside voices speaking on the regulators’ panel warned that it might take an accident for the region to really wake everyone up to the dangers of such operations.

“Are you that good–or that lucky?” asked Louis Sorrentino, managing director of safety, security and ops for consultancy ICF SH&E, rhetorically. “Don’t take for granted that we had a great run, and zero accidents [in the region].”

 “One of the big problems we face is that we don’t have a [concise] definition of what is illegal,” said Aoife O’ Sullivan, a lawyer with Gates and Partners. She said regional regulators were too cautious, and needed to make a better job of identifying where accountability lies. Failure to do so would likely throw the field open to aircraft from better-organised jurisdictions.

Despite the challenges, thoughts are also turning to how to expand the region’s business aviation potential. Tilmann Gabriel, executive vice president at Qatar Executive, called on Middle East business aviation to emulate the success of commercial carriers. “We need to develop a global business,” he said. “We need to start working globally.”

“We’ve emerged from the financial crisis far healthier than people predicted,” said Ali Al Naqbi, founding chairman of MEBAA. “Some 500 aircraft are registered in the region, and this will rise to 1,300 by the end of the decade. By 2018, the business aviation industry will be worth $1 billion [in revenues],” he added.

The high incidence of private owners in the region does not help the situation. O’ Sullivan, of Gates and Partners, underscored the extent to which the region is still dealing with the challenge of defining basic problems. “In terms of risk transfer, who is the operator of the flight? The operator? The owner? The AOC holder? Who is legally liable if anything happens? Make somebody responsible.”

Dave Edwards, managing director for the Middle East and Asia for Gama Aviation, said, “Bigger operators are coming in and taking business away from local players.

[Our] revenues have been affected by the market. We need to educate owners about the difference between private and commercial operations.” “Does he have an AOC? No, Part 91,” said Dr. Mark Pierotti, COO at Abu Dhabi’s Al Jaber Aviation, to underline Edwards’ assertion.UAE-regulator GCAA’s resources are stretched by bumper growth at commercial carriers Emirates and Etihad, leaving them struggling to cope with alternative sectors, which are lesser priorities when seen from a national perspective. Muddying the search for joint positions, the Middle East and North Africa boast at least 22 civil aviation authorities.

“We do conduct ramp checks for commercial operators,” said Aqeel Al Zarouni, director of foreign operators at the GCAA. “For the private sector, we don’t conduct such services. [But] we are here to receive comments and complaints.”

“If they [illegal operators] knew what they were getting involved with in chartering certain aircraft, many corporations would never get on board the aircraft,” said Edwards. “ ‘Somebody is going to pay for this accident’ [needs to be the message],” said Edwards, who concluded, “It’s a question of getting the legislation right.”