Gama Aviation's New Centre at Sharjah Airport to Open 2025

Gama Aviation’s Sharjah BAC builds toward
Q2 ’25 opening.
Gama Aviation reveals new features at its 80,000 sqm business aviation
centre (“BAC”) including a new look lounge and the incorporation of
leasable office space.
10th December 2024 – Gama Aviation’s Fixed Base Operation (”FBO”) strategic business unit is pleased
to provide the business aviation community with a further update on the development of its new Business
Aviation Centre at Sharjah International Airport. Targeting an opening late in Q2, 2025, the new facility
will add significant business aviation infrastructure to Sharjah International Airport.
Easy to reach facility
The new Business Aviation Centre at Sharjah International Airport is a c30 minute drive from Downtown
Dubai and c20 minutes from the Dubai financial district, DIFC.
Minimal transition times between airside and landside
The Business Aviation Centre has been planned with 40 years of operational experience at its core to
minimise transition times. The design of the building allows passengers to flow through the facility, with
the very minimum amount of time required outside of the comfort of their transport. Once at the aircraft,
there is a short 5 min taxi to the departure position (80% of all departures) and with no slot restrictions for
general aviation traffic, passengers do not loose valuable time waiting to depart. Arriving aircraft have
similar advantages, allowing passengers to depart from the aircraft swiftly to optimise their time in the
region.
Crew friendly environment
Care has been taken in the building design to ensure flight crews with longer stopovers have dedicated
rest areas including two innovative ‘rest pods.’ Flight crews that are stopping overnight may also make
use of the concierge style service for transport, hotels, and reservations. For flight crews with short
turnaround times, the operations team are to be found adjacent to the flight crew rooms, providing instant
responses to requests whether that is for last minute catering or line maintenance tasks.
A welcoming, discreet lounge experience
The lounge is comprised of a quiet area, central lounge, and an observation bar. Each area has been
carefully appointed to caterer for the needs of individuals as well as family groups. The quiet area, using
floor to ceiling sliding panels provides either a private space or is opened as part of the wider lounge
space. A raised observation bar provides uninterrupted views of the apron with speciality refreshments
including a wide selection of juices curated to match the time of day. In the central lounge area families
can relax in comfort and privacy, with personal service from our kitchen while their entourage assembles
prior to departure.
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Taking care of business
The FBO will contain an amount of office space that will be available for short or long lease, ideal for flight
operations teams working with regionally based aircraft that require a cost-effective base at a business
aviation friendly international airport.
Tom Murphy, Managing Director, FBO, comments: “We have spent a good deal of time benchmarking
other FBOs around the world to create a facility that is focused on providing a highly personalised
experience to our clients whether they transition directly to their aircraft or spend a few minutes enjoying
our hospitality. This same focus has been applied to the flight crew. The importance of good crew rest is
paramount to flight safety and again we have tried to ensure their experience is balanced for short or long
stopovers.”
Marwan Khalek, Group Chief Executive Officer, comments: “Our total investment in the business
aviation centre in Sharjah International Airport, and its sister facility at Jersey International Airport, will
exceed c$100M. This investment is building infrastructure to meet demand at both locations, offering
business aviation operators a discrete, bespoke service for their discerning passengers.”
Gama Aviation will be attending MEBAA between 10 -12th December and can be found on stand 1170
within the main exhibition hall.