Contributor - Middle East

Peter Shaw-Smith

Opening on February 2, Gama Aviation’s Business Aviation Center (BAC) at Sharjah International Airport (OMSJ) is setting a standard in the United Arab Emirates for size, convenience, and luxury. With an official launch planned in late 2026, the facility combines FBO and MRO support, underlining the UK-based company’s intensifying UAE involvement that began in 2012.
With a total footprint of 80,000 sq m (860,000 sq ft) and costing more than $60 million, the BAC was conceived in 2018 but delayed by the pandemic. Gama CEO Marwan Khalek is credited with overseeing details of the facility’s buildout, given his background as a civil engineer.
At more than seven times the size of Gama’s legacy 2014 FBO at the airport—an increase from 200 sq m to 1,500—the site underscores its evolution into a potential UAE front-runner for business aviation. The hangar is 12,000 sq m, making it one of the region’s largest dedicated business jet storage hangars.
“It’s the biggest investment Gama has made,” Tom Murphy, managing director of FBO for Gama, told AIN. “We have a successful track record in developing airport infrastructure that gives the business aviation market more choice. Our overriding objective is to increase operational efficiency and ease of access.”
Gama still manages Gulfstream and Bombardier aircraft in the Middle East. “We have a G650 and a number of the Global series and other Gulfstreams, as well,” he said.
Constraints at Gama’s former Sharjah FBO revolved around hangar capacity. “We were turning away a significant amount of business over a number of years at the old facility,” he said. “It’s been a challenge for the last six years.” IS-BAH Stage 3 registration is portable to the BAC, but standard operating procedures “have to be tailored to the new facility,” he said.
Business jet movements rose 41% at Sharjah in 2025, while passenger throughput grew 25%. “We had a brilliant year last year—the perfect momentum going into this,” Murphy said. “Volume was up year on year; 2024 was our record-breaking year—and 2025 exceeded 2024 in both volumes and passenger footfall.”
<h2>Significant Interest</h2>
The BAC lounge houses three areas: a quiet zone, the central lounge, and a food and beverage area. A private lounge offers added confidentiality—and an adjoining conference room. Upstairs, a crew lounge, with a rest area sleeping three and shower facilities, is adjacent to the operations room. An airside lounge offers further support to crew and passengers. A cigar lounge tops things off.
Sharjah is an efficient airport where existing advantages—no slot restrictions, low congestion, quick ground handling—have improved through design and infrastructure, enabling unusually fast turnaround times compared with other international airports. The new FBO offers dedicated onsite fueling, a 90-second taxi, and a self-maneuvering apron that reduces the need for towing.
“We’ve had significant interest…from aircraft that usually frequent other UAE airports and have already seen new clients and aircraft using our facility,” Murphy said.
Gama’s strategy is predicated on Sharjah’s location as an alternative to Dubai International Airport (OMDB), which could shut down within a decade, and where restricted business jet access remains vexing. While a policy decision to move to Al Maktoum International (OMDW) has been clearly articulated, Dubai Airports has yet to announce a definitive closure date. The shutdown, likely in 2032 to 2034, is contingent on OMDW being fully ready.
While the OMDW VIP Terminal is 57 kilometers (35 miles) from the Dubai International Financial Center, it is 44&nbsp;kilometers from the Palm Jumeirah. Gama’s facility is around 65&nbsp;kilometers from the Palm, but only 42&nbsp;kilometers from the DIFC. “If it weren’t for this project, there would only be one airport for business jets to go to in the Dubai area,” Murphy argues.
<h2>Right Opportunity</h2>
Gama’s FBO network today consists of Sharjah, Glasgow (where movements were up 42% year over year&nbsp;in the first quarter), and Jersey. Gama Aviation Engineering at Bournemouth International (EGHH) already offers MRO services, while Murphy is closely watching the Saudi market. An unsuccessful foray into Saudi aircraft management in 2018 led to circumspection.
“If the right opportunity and process come along to open an FBO in Saudi Arabia, then we’d look at it,” he said. “I think it’s going to be very competitive. That doesn’t put us off, but we’ve got a lot on our plate here with the Sharjah FBO and other locations that we’re looking at.”
The BAC project envisages the development of a landside helipad for helicopters and eVTOLs, while the 2027 advent of the $5.1 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island casino in the neighboring emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, at a distance of 65 kilometers (40 miles), will also spur throughput.
“We’re one of the biggest helicopter operators in Europe now,” Murphy said. “[For] the UAE market, it’s future-proofing a future opportunity, particularly off the back of developments in Ras Al Khaimah. The infrastructure is not quite there for the helicopter market, but it’s coming.”
Murphy hinted that new FBO announcements can be expected soon. “We’re quite selective over the locations that we would want to operate in,” he said.
“We measure growth opportunity and the advantages we can create for the market, as well as other key criteria. For the level of investment in our three FBO developments combined, we could have likely acquired 10 FBO locations, but our approach is more than putting a name above the door.”
The biggest misconception international operators still had about Sharjah was the distance from Dubai and constant traffic at all hours of the day, a perception he believes has dissipated in recent years.
“I’m really excited by the region and also the UAE,” Murphy said. “I think it’s very resilient. There’s just an endless list of exciting projects that I think will positively affect aviation and all other sectors. It’s a hotbed for business.”

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