Royal Jet, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered international executive flight services Company, witnessed its busiest ever period at its VIP Terminal (FBO-Fixed Base Operations) over the past week. This was thanks to the staging of Abu Dhabi’s first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix.
To cope with the unprecedented numbers Royal Jet temporarily took over a section of the Abu Dhabi Aviation terminal to complement its own VIP/FBO facilities, thereby offering an additional three VIP lounges for the duration of the F1 event. Over the week Royal Jet broke all records by handling over in excess of 200 aircraft movements and handled a record number of passengers. At the same time they had 50 aircraft parked at their terminal with the overflow positioned at Al Bateen and Al Ain Airports.
With their facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport situated minutes from the Grand Prix circuit, Royal Jet handled 90% of the visiting private aircraft traffic into Abu Dhabi. It was record week for Royal Jet FBO traffic and the entire process was handled flawlessly.
The luxury aviation Company also took on additional manpower for the ramp and lounge services to cope with the high demand, whilst the in-house catering team designed special menus for the visiting F1 VIPs. Royal Jet’s FBO lived up to its award winning reputation and showed why earlier this year it was ranked the best in the region by the pilots and readers of Aviation International News.
President & CEO Shane O’Hare explained that all this was made possible by the hard work and dedication of THE Royal Jet team and the close working relationship that Royal Jet has with a number of statutory authorities. “We would particularly like to thank Abu Dhabi Aviation, the Presidential Flight Authority, ADAC, ADNOC, Abu Dhabi International Airport Catering, Abu Dhabi Airport Security and Abu Dhabi Customs and police officials who fully supported us all the way with their resources. This ensured that the whole process of welcoming arriving and departing VIPs in and out of Abu Dhabi worked seamlessly.
“The F1 event was a major event in Abu Dhabi’s calendar and it reflects the growth of the Emirate and its growing stature as an international venue for sports, art and culture. We are expecting even busier days ahead as Abu Dhabi gears itself up to host the FIFA Club World Championship football at the end of this year,” he concluded.