MEBA2012: Hadid signs up for new African Association

The African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) has announced that it has appointed Hadid International Services as the 19th and penultimate founding member of the recently launched association.
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AfBAA is now working on selecting the final founding member, which it anticipates choosing by the end of the year.

Rady Fahmy, AfBAA’s executive director explained: “We had some great applicants to join as founding members but are choosing people based on financial commitment and capabilities in the region. Hadid has a presence in Niger and other places.”

UAE-based Hadid provides flight support services for executive jets, and was invited to join partly because of the fact it has an ongoing commitment to developing business aviation in the region.

Hadid’s director of business development, Dr Adnan Branbo said: “We see tremendous growth and opportunities in Africa and recognise the need for a professional, thoughtfully structured and well-funded association that can support the development of the business aviation sector on the continent.”

AfBAA announced at the recent NBAA show that it has launched three new membership categories, which have been tailored to encourage membership applications from the full spectrum of aviation businesses.

Any commercial enterprise that owns or operates a general aviation aircraft in Africa can join with ‘operator membership’, while the ‘supplier membership’ is designed for those that provide goods and services to the industry. Both categories include voting rights at the Association’s annual general meeting.

For those that do not fulfil either of the previous criteria, an affiliate membership allows any entity with an abiding interest in business aviation within the region to join, but does not include voting rights.