Sharjah, UAE-based aircraft management and charter operation Gama Aviation (Stand 470) added two aircraft to its managed fleet this year and is planning a new hangar for maintenance and storage. Gama has seen a windfall from operators leaving Dubai International Airport (DXB) due to the shortage of slots for business aviation at that airport.

Today, Gama has eight aircraft under management and two on charter. Two aircraft were added to the fleet this year, a Legacy 600 and a Challenger 605. “We now charter two Legacy 600s, and we are obviously very happy with that product. It has been very well received by the industry,” Richard Lineveldt, general manager, Gama Aviation Sharjah, told AIN.

Gama has three hangars at Sharjah International, and access to a fourth, if necessary, for parking. “We are in the final stages of planning a new maintenance and storage hangar. It is of quite significant size, at 3,000 square  meters [over 32,000 sq ft], and will take care of a lot of our needs going forward.”

Lineveldt said Gama had received UAE GCAA CAR 145 maintenance approval, as well as EASA line-station approval, and was able to maintain aircraft types including Bombardier’s Global and Challenger series. The next step was to obtain maintenance approvals for Embraer’s Legacy, towards the end of the year. “We are seeing what the need is for maintenance based on aircraft moving over to Sharjah. Obviously, we are looking to fulfill that need.”

Gama’s new Sharjah FBO opened this summer to positive reviews. Lineveldt said, “It is a three-pronged [approach]. The FBO facility is the primary draw to get aircraft over to Sharjah. The maintenance facility helps ensure that clients are comfortable and the aircraft can be taken care of over there. The third part is storage and hangarage in Sharjah, as well as parking. We offer dedicated parking and a variety of hangar opportunities for clients, ensuring aircraft are kept sheltered from the Middle East climate, especially during summer.

“We wanted to make Sharjah a viable option for business aviation in Dubai and the Northern Emirates,” he said.

Lineveldt went on to say that corporate aviation was on the increase. “In general, we are very encouraged by the fact that we are seeing people talking about buying aircraft and bringing them into the region. A lot of this is coming from corporates.

“Some are non-UAE. Many of these aircraft are used by high-net-worth individuals who own companies. We are seeing some addition to that–corporations buying for corporate use and expansion of the business. Attitudes to business aviation are changing.”

Lineveldt then discussed how general aviation is increasingly constrained at Dubai’s existing airport. “DXB is no longer conducive to business-jet travel. It’s no secret: if you want to schedule a flight to DXB today, scheduling slots is difficult, and there is a limit to the amount of time you can spend on the ground. [It is often better] to reposition the aircraft out to another airport.

“Sharjah won’t be the solution for everybody,” he admitted. “We are very comfortable we are getting a more-than-decent share of the local market…[but] we would be more than happy to operate out of DWC. We will continue to look at what opportunities there are. We hope that with the continued expansion, there will be more business. The business proposition for us [then] becomes a lot clearer.”

On Africa, Lineveldt said that Nigeria was an increasing focus. “It is very evident that most of the hype is centered on Nigeria. We’ve made contact with some people there, to provide services. At the moment we don’t have specific intentions to move into Africa. We are keeping an eye on Africa as we appreciate there’s growth.”

Lineveldt said that general aviation’s performance in the Middle East was picking up. “There is an increase in growth as business in the region picks up. There is an increase in new aircraft. It is important that the company is diversified, and we are ensuring [we are able to provide] FBO and MRO [facilities].”