Next month [December], flight support group Nexus is set to start fulfilling a major new contract to provide flight support for a large undisclosed Saudi Arabian operator at 15 airports around the country. The Jeddah-based group will dedicate around 200 staff to supporting the government-backed client’s flight operations.

The arrangement adds to the fleet of some 170 aircraft for which Nexus already provides flight support services. On top of this, the company fully manages around 23 more aircraft for owners based in Saudi Arabia, India, Bahrain and Egypt, including provision of crews and supervising maintenance.

Among the aircraft Nexus supports are several owned by the Saudi defense ministry and air force that are used for a variety of VIP transport, freight and logistics roles. The IS-BAO-certified company is approved as a continuing airworthiness management organization by authorities in the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

According to Nexus president and CEO Abdullah Al-Sayed, the company is now giving serious thought to how it might get more directly involved in providing ground handling in India and Africa. It already has a joint venture in India with the Sovika group and a subsidiary in Rwanda in alliance with local company Crystal Venture Limited. The Rwandan operation, based in the capital Kigali, recently got government approval to serve as a training organization for skills such as ground handling and flight dispatch.

Meanwhile, Nexus also recently signed contracts to establish a new flight support joint venture in Shanghai, China. It has identified an executive from its own ranks to serve as chief operating officer for this operation, which it wants to have up and running by year-end. The joint venture is with Chinese company Zhongji Culture Industry Group Limited.

Earlier this year in Europe, Nexus opened a new flight operations support center in the Austrian capital. This facility has taken over the operational aspects of its existing joint venture with Monaco-based logistics group FlyTrans.

Over the past 12 months or so, Nexus has seen an increase in the volume of flights it is supporting. Much of this is due to an increase in contracts to support government flights. It also has a new aircraft management customer in India and has decided to open a new office in Dubai to support private operators.

Further afield, Al-Sayed told AIN that Nexus is making plans to set up an office at Manila in the Philippines, which it believes would make a good operational hub for Asia. It also has ambitions to establish a presence in Latin America, and Mexico seems to be its favored starting point.

Last year, Nexus expanded the scope of its business with the acquisition of aviation risk management and safety audit provider Wyvern Consulting from Avinode. The U.S.-based company’s Wyvern Wingman and Wyvern Registered audits are now being promoted by Nexus, which also has partnerships with training provider FlightSafety International, security specialist FAM International and consultants MAZ AviationGroup.

Last year, the Nexus flight operations center move into a new high technology headquarters in Jeddah and introduced a new flight dispatch system. The flight operations center includes four core teams: the service excellence team, which is the main interface with clients, scheduling and planning, flight support and dispatch.