The Middle East Business Aviation Association is hosting the inaugural Middle East Business Aviation Conference (MEBAC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 4. The conference, which is officially sanctioned by Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) president H.H. Prince Fahd bin Abdulla bin Muhammad, will gather prominent leaders from the region’s aviation sector to discuss the issues affecting the Kingdom’s business aviation market. Keynote speakers will include Prince Fahd, GACA vice president Dr. Faisal Bin Hamad Al Sughair, and Wajdi Alidrissi, managing director of MEBAC sponsor Saudi Private Aviation. In the afternoon, the conference will move into panel discussions where industry and regulatory leaders will debate topics such as the grey-charter market and regulatory frameworks.

Meanwhile, business aviation in Saudi Arabia is growing quickly and is one the segment’s biggest markets among the six states in the Gulf Cooperation Council, commanding about a 35-percent market share there. “We anticipate that the Saudi Arabian market will witness growth of at least 10 percent through to 2014, due to the government’s bold plans for economic cities throughout the Kingdom and other major infrastructure projects currently under way and in the pipeline,” said Alidrissi.