MEBAA To Draft Baseline Bizav Regs for Mideast in 2014

The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) plans to draft policies and procedures that will provide baseline regulations for business aviation in the UAE and Saudi Arabia at the Middle East Business Aviation Conference, which will be held in Dubai just before the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show from Dec. 8 to 10 next year. MEBAA founding chairman Ali Al Naqbi said the introduction of these policies and procedures had been on the association’s agenda for some time.

“The conference will tackle the issue of the gray charter market, and we need a mechanism to fight this; the policies and procedures will assist. We have been working with the authorities on their introduction with the UAE and Saudi Arabia readying for their imposition,” he said. The move can only expand the business aviation market, said Al Naqbi, because it will encourage owners and operators, currently hesitant because of the lack of regulation, to come to the region.

According to Al Naqbi, 530 business jets are currently registered in the Middle East. “Many more are based here, but we count only the ones registered in the Middle East,” he added. “We are currently experiencing regional growth of around 12 percent and expect between 13 and 15 percent next year.”