The Middle East business aviation market is estimated to expand 15-20% per annum over the next six years to become a $1billion per-year industry by 2018, whilst the total number of private aircraft in the region is expected to reach 1,330 by 2019, up from the current tally of 460.
Business aviation leaders and various industry stakeholders gathered at the Le Vendome InterContinental Hotel in Beirut for a high-level conference to discuss emerging challenges and opportunities within the private aviation sector in the Middle East.
The networking conference was hosted by the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), the industry forum representing the region’s business aviation community, in association with Executive Aircraft Services, a leading Lebanon-based business aviation operator.
“The conference aimed to explore new avenues for business aviation in the region by facilitating a convergence of diverse stakeholder interests,” said Ali Al Naqbi, Founding Chairman of MEBAA.
“MEBAA is dedicated to promoting the cause of the region’s business aviation community, and creating an environment that would enable the industry to gain traction in the vital market of Lebanon forms an important part of our ambitions for the region,” Al Naqbi added.
The conference explored ways to broaden the reach of private aviation in the Middle East and discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the regional business aviation community, especially against the backdrop of the changing geopolitical landscape of the Arab world.
“By bringing together business aviation leaders and key industry influencers on a common platform, the conference provided an opportunity for the delegates to share ideas and identify joint efforts to move the industry towards the next stage of growth,” said Nicholas Meszaros, General Manager of Executive Aircraft Services, the lead sponsor of the MEBAA conference.
The Middle East Business Aviation Association was established to become the principal forum for gathering, understanding and communicating the needs and benefits of business aviation within the Middle East to businesses, governments and media worldwide. The Association is committed to serve the needs of its members in ways that enhance safety, security, efficiency and acceptance of business aviation throughout the region.