Gulfstream has appointed Allan Stanton as regional vice president for international sales in the Middle East. Stanton, who is based in Dubai, reports to Trevor Esling, regional senior vice president, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The first admissions open day event run by Saudi Aviation Flight Academy (SAFA) at the Academy campus in King Khaled National Park at Thumamah was voted a great success with interest from both Saudi nationals and expatriates across the kingdom.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Airports and the Emirates Group, cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of MEBA.

The UAE's minister of foreign trade, HE Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, joined the royal tour at the opening ceremony of MEBA and took the opportunity to explore some of the stands.

Eight leading European corporate aviation operators announced the formation of a new 'Air Club' alliance at MEBA.

The head of CAE, the world's largest training organisation, (stand 360) has called for a rethink about how the training industry should prepare the next generation of aircraft captains, both in the airline and the business aviation sectors.

This year's Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show kicks off with some strong stats from organisers – the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) – which says that the local market will be worth US$1 billion by 2018.

A new working group to quash the illegal charter market in the Middle East sprang from a session at the Middle East Business Aviation Conference yesterday.