Jekta Eyes Middle East as Market for Amphibious Aircraft

Amphibious aircraft developer Jekta is eyeing the Middle East as the launch region for its upcoming amphibious aircraft. The Switzerland-based company believes its hydrogen-electric PHA-ZE 100 will initially find favor in the area’s luxury tourism segment, a growing use case reflected in a collaboration signed with UAE air charter provider Tahseen Aviation Services.

Jekta CEO and co-founder George Alafinov believes the region is “one of the most important markets” for the seaplane startup. Blending favorable geographic topography with what Alafinov describes as underserved infrastructure, he thinks this part of the world represents “an enormous market for amphibious aviation.” He also cites the combination of the region’s lack of regional airports, a willingness to embrace future mobility, and “enormous and ever-growing investment…both in the UAE and neighboring countries such as Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia” as beneficial.

Jekta began engaging in discussions with countries in the region two years ago, with Alafinov describing “current proposals in this sector [as] very much outdated.” The Tahseen collaboration will build upon existing regulations for amphibious aviation, complemented by the absence of landing fees on water, which reduces operating costs. Tahseen and Jekta will now work to assess routes across missions including business aviation, cargo, and oil field services.

Jekta sees the Middle East as its main initial market, although Alafinov predicts the Asian sector is ultimately “going to overtake it in real numbers of aircraft simply because of the size of the Asian tourism market and the amount of people” potentially able to benefit from amphibious transport.

However, ongoing development must also “take into consideration the environment of the operations that this aircraft is intended for,” continued Alafinov. In the Middle East in particular, this entails elevated temperatures, moisture, and sand, as well as sea salt after evaporation. Jekta has therefore chosen to collaborate with Pennsylvania-based Innovate Aerosystems to jointly evolve what Jekta terms a “highly customized, next-generation iteration of [Innovate’s existing] Liberty Integrated Flight Deck.”

Innovate Aerosystems is already a supplier for C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft that have been extensively used in the Middle East for the last 30 years. The company “certainly has that experience in building those types of avionics that have elevated protection against fine sand,” clarified Alafinov. Additionally, Jekta is working on integrating amphibious-optimized features into the Liberty flight deck system, such as the ability to communicate with other sea-going vessels. A long-term goal is to develop an automatic takeoff and landing capability, augmenting safety while potentially paving the way for single-pilot operations.

“Ultimately, the challenge for us is to show the world that this niche needs to be here, and it is here to support communities and economies: taking us into the future by looking into the past,” Alafinov concluded.