The top business aviation official in Dubai believes that the transfer of general aviation to Dubai World Central (DWC), in the wake of runway closures earlier this year at Dubai International (DXB), is well under way, and concedes that costs for operators at the new airport are likely to be high.

In an interview with AIN, Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) founding chairman, Ali Al Naqbi, said the number of people involved, and the competing pressures for attention, were complicating the decision-making process regarding the transfer of business aviation to the new airport. He also made reference to key figures in Dubai’s aviation set-up, including DWC management and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, head of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and CEO of Emirates Group.

While some operators have decided to stay at DWC after the runway closures, some others will still try to use DXB if possible. Asked whether there was an official policy on the transfer of general aviation from DXB to DWC, Al Naqbi preferred to dwell on the realities.

“There’s no room at DXB for general aviation. So what’s the [alternative]? I think the authorities have been clear. Sometimes there is pressure from different directions allowing some aircraft to land [at DXB]. This doesn’t mean they broke the rules. There is flexibility in decisions. The move was done. Where are the FBOs now?”

Al Naqbi said the situation for business aviation at DXB partly depended on provision of MRO facilities by Jet Aviation and ExecuJet. “MRO facilities will continue until further notice. Sheikh Ahmed said that. For these two, MRO will continue.”

However, other general aviation flights will continue. “Sometimes there are flights that need slots at DXB. They will be allowed to land. You go to London Heathrow or JFK. Has general aviation ceased totally at these airports? There is a slot somewhere, and that’s how it’s going to be here.

“Permanently? Officially? All business aviation is moving to DWC. There’s no return on this. I can assure you this has happened. Sheikh Ahmed said that many times to me, and to the media. The media sometimes misinterpreted what he said in their own way. We all have to understand, the truth is there is no way [that the situation that existed] before the runway closure [can continue], that business aviation will continue flying at DXB. For a fact: there’s no room. There are no slots available. It’s not in our hands.”

Al Naqbi said that even for Dubai’s biggest business families, obtaining a slot to land at DXB was ‘very difficult.’ “It’s been given on a case-by-case basis. To get a slot, you have to follow the airlines’ [procedure]. I have talked to [the big families.] They prefer to go to DWC because they can land at the time they want. At DXB, it’s difficult to make an appointment with anybody. The taxi, the whole thing takes a long time. People are realizing.

“The other point is that people think DWC is ‘very far away.’ It’s not. DXB could be ‘farther’ than DWC. When there is traffic on the highway, it is on the DXB side, not the DWC side. The reality is that a natural move is happening. The corridor for exception is getting narrower and narrower.”

Al Naqbi agreed that costs are going up substantially for those wanting to run DWC-based FBOs or MRO facilities. “Everyone has a difficult job in this situation. I can only talk on MEBAA’s behalf. I really cannot [speak] for DWC. I concur with what [our members] are saying in this regard. MEBAA, as an association, is playing the role of mediator between all the players.”

Al Naqbi said he did to want to see a situation where the international business aviation community regarded Dubai as ‘too expensive.’ “It cannot be more expensive here than [elsewhere]. It will not work.

“We can assure all our members that we will not–we will not–agree or accept the fact that we are the most expensive center in the world. No, we will not accept it. From that perspective, we are open to discussions with HH Sheikh Ahmed, and with all the team at DWC. Yes, [each case is] different, [whether it’s ExecuJet], Jet Aviation, [or anyone else].”

Al Naqbi said MEBAA was helping the authorities to draw up a pricing structure for DWC. “Together, we are helping to develop that. On land, on leases, on how long leases should be for: 15 years extendable, or 20 or even 30 years extendable. This is a subject we brought to the table. DWC is trying to make the decision. We are part of it, but, at the end of the day, we can only suggest and only recommend, because we are not the decision maker.”

Do the DWC authorities admit that they might be setting price levels that are too high? “I am not sure that anybody will admit to that. They think that they are giving everybody a fair price. Now I have to prove to them that these charges are different to other country charges or airport charges. That is exactly what we are trying to do. So believe me, we are not letting it go that easily.”

One issue complicating the negotiations over the transfer of FBO operators from existing temporary quarters to permanent facilities at DWC is the question of whether standalone FBOs will be allowed. Al Naqbi explained in detail the situation in this regard.

“Sheikh Ahmed has approved the layout of DWC overall. In that layout, there is a building which has four FBOs. One building, with four isolated FBOs, which is no different than any other part of the world, where you can share the immigration.

“We at MEBAA too don’t like [the idea of single security, single immigration.] But remember, that decision was made by [Dubai ruler] Sheikh Mohammed [bin Rashid Al Maktoum]. He approved the layout, and that’s part of it.

“We are suggesting to DWC: is it possible to go back and change it… in the interests of the business aviation market? I think it is better to be somehow separate, where every customer is private: ‘I don’t want to share my customer with anybody else.’

“However, you have limited access to be able to change the thing the way you want it. The world is not 100 percent listening to what you are saying. It is a fact: today, there is only one building being dedicated, and the design is there and I’ve seen the design.

“Every FBO [operator] has been asked to comment officially on that building. [DWC] tried to incorporate [that] in the design before they awarded the contract. So what is better than this? The building will not be… forced on the four operators. DWC has asked for operators’ thoughts; the FBOs have been asked to comment on that building. And they designed that building. That’s very good. We work together.”

Al Naqbi said it would be complete within a year. “DWC are saying they will complete [it] before the end of next year, before the Dubai Airshow [in November 2015].”

One FBO and MRO operator to emerge from the build-out at DWC in a fortuitous position is DC Aviation Al Futtaim, which does have a standalone FBO.

“DC Aviation have their own hangar and FBO. That happened before the decision was made. Maybe they made their decision at the right time. They have the advantage of having made that decision three years ago, where the other people were still struggling and didn’t know what to do. In my opinion they made the decision at the right time. Had they come today, they would not be given [stand-alone status].”

Part of the estimated $32 billion total investment in the DWC complex is a project to build the midfield terminal at the airport, a critical piece of the jigsaw puzzle which will make possible Emirates’ move there in around 2025 (the new terminal plan was announced in September). Expo 2020 has given this added impetus, but observers wonder whether general aviation at DWC might be underprioritized compared to other sectors. AIN asked Al Naqbi if he was concerned.

“I think that’s a very good question, to be honest. We’ve raised that concern with DWC management and they assure us, with [their plans for] five runways… that there will be enough room at DWC for business aviation, and I have no reason not to believe that. If I look at the area dedicated to business aviation at DWC, I think they mean business. [This] is a huge area.”

Al Naqbi said his job at MEBAA was becoming more onerous and that the position would soon become full-time. He is studying the option of creating a business aviation hub at DWC headquarters. “Today we are talking about dedicating one of the buildings at DWC HQ to business aviation. I am here inviting everybody to join us in having an office there, a dedicated building for business aviation.”

Al Naqbi is optimistic that DWC is on the right track. “So if [DWC] are agreed on that, if they are putting all the FBOs together, if they are doing all the MROs for business jets, I have no reason not to believe that they mean business and that DWC considers business aviation as a very important player.”