Ali Al Naqbi, the founding chairman of the Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), is retiring from his government post of vice president of finance and administration at Presidential Flight in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The move frees him to dedicate his time to MEBAA.

Al Naqbi retires after 25 years of service, during which Presidential transitioned from Private Flight to Amiri Flight and ultimately to its current organization. A founding member of Presidential, he has steered the range of its head-of-state transportation operations, from aircraft acquisition, completion, facilities creation/maintenance, logistics, risk management and aircraft financing.

In addition to Presidential Flight, he also founded Royal Jet in 2003 and served as its managing director for three years. In 2006, he turned his attention to advocacy, founding MEBAA. Established with 16 members, the organization now has 235 members and has hosted six MEBAA conferences. “Although he will be missed as a colleague and a friend, it is comforting to know that his determination and dedication is devoted to improving the business aviation industry through MEBAA,” said Presidential Flight CEO Nadir Ahmed Al Hammadi.