JEDDAH: With 500 private aviation aircraft, Saudi Arabia’s private aviation sector is considered the GCC’s largest general aviation market and represents 60% share of the region, said Ali Alnaqbi, Founding Chairman of MEBAA at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) held here in Jeddah.
Under the patronage of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) MEBAA 2016 began its session on Monday at Jeddah Hilton, featuring a line up of industry leading speakers, the conference program addressed a range of topics affecting business aviation in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Alnaqbi said “from the limitations of market growth due to the grey market, to over-regulation and serious restrictions on sustainable and self-funding growth, there are a multitude of factors unique to business aviation that must be addressed. MEBAA Conferences seek to continue addressing the challenges facing the industry until they have been successfully resolved.”
He added “The MEBAA Conference brings together experts from across the Middle East and North Africa to address issues related to specific areas of business. We are pleased that so many key industry professionals are already committed to speaking and chairing panels, and we look forward to the conference providing significant value to the attendees.”
Meanwhile, Faisal Al Saddik, executive chief commercial affairs at Saudi Private Aviation, said “we are proud to host this important conference here in Jeddah for the third year in a row which proves the position of Saudi Arabia in the aviation business.”
He noted that there are now almost 500 private jet aircraft owned in the Kingdom and the number is expected to increase to 1000 aircrafts in the upcoming 5 years. “In the near future, we will also look into having more advanced aircrafts, because I think the market is growing very fast, about 20% a year. This year, we have gone beyond our set target, because of our excellent teamwork, our sales team, and our excellent management,” said Saddik. He also pointed out that MEBAA Conference provides an ideal forum to enhance their business and look to the future of the industry.
Among the panels during the event, the conference aimed to cope with Increasing demand and dealing with the grey market and attendees took part in interactive discussions with detailed analyses of how to understand the market with stakeholder consultation, embarking on consumer awareness campaigns and preventing unexpected competition between the nations of the region.
