Falcon Aviation celebrates first year at Dubai South FBO with IS-BAH Accreditation

Tuesday 12th December 2017

Falcon Aviation is celebrating the completion of its first anniversary at its FBO in the VIP Terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai South) with the news that it has been awarded International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) certification.

The accreditation was received by the company on 30th November following a third-party audit by IBAC, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). The endorsement underlines to the wider business aviation industry that Falcon Aviation follows a voluntary code of best safety practice for FBOs.

Congratulating the management team on the award Terry Yeomans, Programme Director for IS-BAH, commented: "We are very pleased that the industry standards have been successfully implemented through to Stage I registration at the Falcon Aviation station at DWC and trust that the team will continue their commitment to ground handling safety as a core value in their service provision to the business aviation community."

"We are delighted with this recognition as it has been a priority for us this year as we build up our activity in Dubai to mirror our Abu Dhabi Al Bateen Executive Airport performance," said Falcon Aviation COO Capt Raman Oberoi. This means we can move into the New Year with a ringing industry endorsement of inhouse handling excellence."

New FBO Manager Ahmad Badreddine reinforces DWC team

Capt Raman also paid tribute to the team for all their hard work including recently appointed new FBO Manager Ahmad Badreddine, who joined the business in July and assisted with the important audit.

Ahmad brings nearly a decade of experience with a leading FBO brand to the role, together with valued previous experience in the aviation sector, where he held station manager and ground handling roles with Emirates Airlines and Dnata, looking after a variety of aviation companies.

He was also a key figure supporting Falcon Aviation's hospitality at the recent Dubai Airshow, with responsibility extended to overseeing the logistics and handling of Air Baltic's Bombardier C Series, making its Middle East debut in the static display. Bombardier Regional Aircraft heaped praise on Falcon for their superb handling of a highly significant showcase for them, (Falcon Aviation supplied a Bombardier Q400 in its colours alongside.)

"I am delighted to have joined Falcon Aviation at such an exciting time in the business. The IS-BAH endorsement rounds off a brilliant year and I am looking forward to 2018 and being able to build on our loyal customer base and further attract new clients who are flying or transiting through the FBO. We will also be incentivising clients further with discounts on connecting helicopter charters if they use our FBO and our new heliport," he added.

Falcon Aviation offers a fast clearance, VIP service for passengers connecting from business jets to helicopters, following the opening of its heliport in April 2017.

Popular destinations like Ras Al Khaimah; Fujairah and Diba are reachable in under an hour from the VIP terminal. Open to all operators, corporates and private individuals arriving with their business jets, it is also the first in the region to facilitate quick and convenient helicopter charters between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in just 30 minutes.

This winter and into the 2018 New Year Falcon's DWC FBO will be handling flights within the GCC, Europe, the USA and luxury leisure destinations including the Maldives, Seychelles,

About Falcon Aviation

• Falcon Aviation, founded in 2006, is a leading business aviation services company, based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Since its creation, under the patronage of HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has built up a sound reputation for high quality and innovative services, serving a significantly large customer base. It has become synonymous with safety, quality and excellent customer service.

• Falcon Aviation is based at Al Bateen Executive Airport, the premier VIP airport in the UAE, within Abu Dhabi City. Falcon Aviation delivers a variety of aviation services from private jet and executive helicopter charter with a diverse fleet of business jets and helicopters; third party aircraft management, MRO, CAMO, commercial aircraft leasing and oil and gas aviation support.

• It operates a 11 strong fixed wing fleet including one Embraer Legacy 600s, one Lineage 1000, three Gulfstream G450/G550s and six Bombardier Q400 turboprops. Three of the six Q400s are currently leased to Qazaq Air in Kazakhstan. Falcon Aviation also operates a variety of helicopters consisting of - 10 Bell 412EPs; four Airbus Helicopters EC130B4s; four AW109S/SPs, two AW189s and two AW169s.

• In December last year, coinciding with the MEBAA Show, it opened its luxurious new FBO at the VIP Dubai South Terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). The 1,000 sqm state-of-the art facility offers two VIP lounges, with en suite bathrooms; a refreshment and coffee bar; cigar lounge, boardroom-style meeting facilities; prayer room; shower facilities and access to a dedicated VIP Terminal Duty Free. The facility extends to a children's play area and pets room.

• In May Falcon Aviation achieved approval from the GCAA to perform third party line maintenance at its new Dubai South facility at Al Maktoum International Airport base in Dubai, co-located with its FBO facility in the VIP Terminal. Aircraft types it has been cleared to work on include the Gulfstream G450/G550; Embraer 135/145 regional jets and Embraer 190/Lineage 1000. (Falcon Aviation is already an Authorised Service Centre for Embraer Executive Jets at its Abu Dhabi Al Bateen Executive Airport base.) as well as the Pilatus PC-12 turboprop.

Falcon Aviation is a founding member of the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) and an authorised service centre for Embraer Executive Jets and warranty service centre for Gulfstream. The MRO is also providing services for Bombardier, Gulfstream, Leonardo, Pilatus, Airbus and Bell helicopters.

www.falconaviation.ae