It is difficult to comprehend the scope of the changes Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) is contemplating in order to bring general aviation into its own in the massive country, a MEBAA 2024 show panel on opportunities there heard this week.

According to Worldometers, Saudi Arabia is the 13th-largest country in the world, at a size of 870,000 sq mi. It has around 30 domestic and international airports. Burgeoning developments in the northwest are opening up a new and long-neglected part of the county, with the Neom giga project the ultimate prize.

“Saudi Arabia is a large country, the size of mainland Europe,” said Khalid Alnatour, CEO of Aloula Aviation. “It needs a lot of connectivity. It is the world’s 17th-largest economy. That type of economy and the [inherent] growth in the next five years is, I think, half the job.”

The recent agreement for Jetex to develop an FBO at the new Red Sea International Airport on the west coast is evidence of international interest in supporting the needs of wealthy visitors to the emerging resort area. For city-centric UAE dwellers, the plans for Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW) in Dubai seem mind-boggling enough, but a similar construction effort will be needed to bring Saudi blueprints to fruition.

When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman initiated the Ritz-Carlton detentions of prominent individuals accused of corruption in 2017, an unintended consequence was that it drove general aviation’s natural constituency underground for years and put the cause of business aviation in Saudi Arabia back a decade. Everyone ran for cover, fearing that to fly would mean officialdom keeping an unwanted eye on them.

GACA was revamped in 2021 under new president Abdulaziz Al-Duailej. Try as his team might, it was not until 2024 that a new general aviation plan was announced. Saudi Arabia's primary aviation focus has always been commercial aviation, as the advent of Riyadh Air, the revamp of Saudia, and a 330-million-passenger target by 2030 make clear. 

The change was welcome, as GACA was long perceived as too rigid, and it is only since 2021 that the time needed to obtain an AOC has been cut down to a reported six months.

It was in 2007 that Mohammed Al Zeer, the founder of Flynas, told journalists at Dubai Airshow of how it had taken him six years to obtain a commercial airline AOC for a Saudi carrier. Winning a business aviation private operator certificate or commercial air operator certificate would hardly have been easier.  

As one of Al Zeer’s biggest forays into business aviation, the VVIP 44-seat ACJ320 Al Khayala Riyadh-Jeddah shuttle went bankrupt 15 years ago after just a short life. It was not until 2011 that Saudi Arabia’s civilian aviation sector was removed from defense ministry control.

Development of the private aviation terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh (OERK) peaked around five years ago, but it has now lost its way and is expected to be demolished to make way for a brand-new facility at King Salman when that new airport, which has yet to receive its ICAO designation, comes online in time for 2030.

Workable Plan Emerges

Even though a workable roadmap for general aviation has been put forward, market participants are impatient to get moving. There are now plans to establish FBOs at a further nine general aviation terminals at existing airports, including those with international traffic.

But Dubai’s own success in developing FBOs and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities could hinder Saudi Arabia’s development. Jet Aviation has spent tens of millions of dollars developing its facilities in Dubai and is unlikely to replicate these services a stone’s throw away.

“Jet Aviation has invested a lot in the past few years in their facilities in Dubai,” an industry executive speaking with AIN on condition of anonymity said. “It doesn't make business sense to establish another entity in Riyadh. They would just be competing with themselves.

“What [GACA] needs to do is just to go to other organizations that we know. There are a few in Europe and the U.S. There are a number of examples, and you bring them in. It doesn't matter who, just a very well-known, established thing. We want MROs and FBOs; we want to have that support. If GACA were to present them with a reasonable business model, they will come.”

Nonetheless, from the industry's perspective, some improvements have already been achieved. For instance, since October 2023 there is no longer a requirement for local interest to have at least a 51% majority stake in FBOs and MROs.

Insiders differ on where and how additional FBO and MRO facilities will be added. Some say outsider locations, such as the new Al-Ula International Airport, will be first to test market interest before the big-ticket items come up on the block, while others believe plum sites like Riyadh or World Defence Airport are up next to get the market moving. 

“Al-Ula is going to be low traffic,” the source said. “No matter how much traffic you're going to have in Al-Ula, in Riyadh there will be more. Al-Ula is seasonal. If I want to invest $10-$20-$30-$50 million in an airport, would I want to do it in Al-Ula or a bigger city? There’s a big difference.”

GACA’s general manager for general aviation Imtiyaz Manzary is doing his best to keep everyone happy. With the World Expo coming to Saudi Arabia the year Vision 2030 culminates, there’s much to prepare for. Hot on the Expo’s heels will be the FIFA World Cup 2034. He is the man who must marry the myriad competing interests required to turn plan into reality.

Manzary told AIN that GACA was directing international investors to the locations that were of interest to them. But his plea to domestic constituents is not to be impatient. “We want to make your changes tomorrow,” he told the panel. “But the process of progress takes time-consuming effort."

This article was updated on December 17 to incorporate several points of clarification provided by GACA.