Contributor - UK

David Donald

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) business-jet market has surpassed 600 aircraft, and a similar number are owned locally, but registered outside the region, Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) founding chairman, Ali Alnaqbi, told AIN in an interview in the run-up to the Dubai Airshow. He reflected on the challenges ahead.

 


“We have over 600 aircraft registered in the MENA region. That number is increasing, including business and private, but not government [aircraft],” he said. But he added that the actual fleet owned and operated in the region is almost double that number: “We also have around 500 aircraft owned in the region [that are] not registered [here].”

 


He said the market expected to see revenues of $1.2 billion a year by 2020, on top of the additional movements expected to take place for the Dubai World Expo 2020.

 


“We are seeing indications of moving to that number. Today, in Dubai, we have in the region of 8,000 to 10,000 movements a year. We would like to double that by 2020. I think that is very easy to achieve.”

 


In places such as Saudi Arabia, registration jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands are popular, he said. “We have around 300 aircraft registered in Saudi Arabia. More than 700 aircraft operate and are based there, but where are they registered?”

 


Alnaqbi, who last year stepped down from his role running Abu Dhabi’s royal flight to focus on leading the association, said that data was still a challenge, but that GAMA, IBAC and Bombardier figures were useful in understanding the MENA business-jet market. “Bombardier’s annual statistics are not far from the reality,” he said.

 


Alnaqbi, fresh from the successful launch of MEBAA Show Morocco this year, estimated that less than 15 percent of the MENA market is from North Africa. He added that it was very rare to see business jets registered in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia or Libya.

 


Shared FBO Unpopular

 


Alnaqbi said the issue of Dubai South’s common-user FBO facility, set to open in time for the MEBAA Show 2016, needed to be resolved, with operators said to be expressing dissatisfaction with the idea of shared facilities for security, baggage-handling and other common-user tasks at the executive terminal.

 


Jet Aviation, Jetex Flight Support, XJet and ExecuJet, which was acquired by Luxaviation earlier this year, are all due to open FBOs, but are privately said to be unhappy with the current situation, even though Alnaqbi conceded that official policy was to specify that some aspects of the executive terminal’s operation be shared.

 


“I am sure the [FBO terminal] will be fully operating by April-May at Dubai South. They will be ready for the MEBAA 2016 show. Will all four FBOs be open? I can’t confirm that. That is the real issue now. None of them wants to share with others. The terminal will be open [but] whether the four operators will be there is open to question.”

 


Alnaqbi said he wanted to support both the authorities and the FBO operators, but he added that Dubai South had to find a way to ensure privacy for individuals using the FBOs.

 


“MEBAA is committed to supporting Dubai South [but] I don’t think what’s going on with shared facilities is a good idea. We need privacy, confidentiality. The market here needs privacy. It is growing. We have huge demand at Dubai South. Privacy is important for every FBO. All the FBO [operators] are saying the same thing.”

 


Giving an example of recent MEBAA industry advocacy, Alnaqbi said he was able to help introduce modifications to advanced passenger information (API) regulations for flights. “API was going to be forced on the FBOs, to [make them] provide passenger lists. That was endorsed by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The FBOs said: ‘That’s not [our job]. It’s not done anywhere else. It’s the operator’s responsibility.’”

 


He said that MEBAA went to GCAA, saying this was “not fair on the FBOs.” So GCAA made changes to instruct the operator, not the FBO, that anyone who flies on business aircraft must be identified. “Now it is the AOC [air operator’s certificate] holder who must do this, not the FBO. We raised a red flag,” said Alnaqbi, who added that a dedicated building for business aviation will be set up at Dubai South’s headquarters.

 


MEBAA’s first North African show took place in Casablanca in September. “Morocco is a very successful story. I am very pleased with the results. It is an important business-aviation country, a hub between Europe and Africa.

 


“We are working closely now with authorities to change the policy for issuing licenses for AOCs, FBOs, MROs and so on, and to build the infrastructure. And we are helping them to bring in investors.”

 


Alnaqbi said that the Casablanca show saw 57 exhibitors, seven aircraft on static display and more than 2,000 visitors. “That’s a good number to start a show with. The Moroccan operators did not really bring their aircraft. We understand. It was the first show. But it exceeded expectations.”

 


Alnaqbi said the government had issued only four bizjet AOCs. “The problem is that it is very difficult to issue AOCs. Now, awareness has been raised. They saw from the show what they are missing…[so] the government is [now] getting their act together.”

 


Alnaqbi said Morocco sees around 11,000 bizjet movements a year, but suffers from a lack of FBOs. “There is room for a large operator. The market is growing. In the coming five years, I see six-to-seven operators going there, with a large number of aircraft.”

 


As a result of MEBAA Show Morocco, he said a tender had been put out to issue licenses for new FBOs. “Morocco’s location is very important. It is a business opportunity. It is a success before it even starts. You don’t need to create a market; it is already there.”

 


He said Casablanca, a growing financial center, was building more five-star hotels, with businessmen from all over Africa to use it as a base; Morocco’s main tourist center, Marrakech, boasts around 60 quality hotels, he added.

 


“All the movement in Africa is in Morocco. Movements to the Middle East, Europe, and within Africa, start from Morocco. It will be a headquarters for central African business aviation. That’s what they are planning. Marrakech has 5,000 flights a year. If they had a proper FBO, that number would double.” o

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