The Middle East, a hub of opportunities for French businesses in the aeronautical industry

United Arab Emirates, 17 February 2022 – For 2 days, AIME & MRO Middle East will serve as a showcase for French excellence with 17 French firms taking part in this largest commercial aviation tradeshow. Operated by Business France, the French Pavilion, will shed light on the expertise of businesses involved in aircraft completions, MRO, engineering consulting, composite repair, state-of-the-art logistics solutions, and interconnection systems.

French companies will be exhibiting their latest innovations in key areas of the aviation sector in a region has been quick to recover from the pandemic and which is home to the world’s largest long-haul operator, Emirates. They will seize this opportunity to meet with key decision makers such as airlines, MROs, OEMs, suppliers, aircraft interior specialists and investors from all around the world and especially for the United Arab Emirates, where we count the largest civilian air fleet in service from the GCC, with 509 aircraft (plus over 100 on order). This represents more than 25% of the regional civil MRO market (maintenance, repair, overhaul), estimated at over US$11 billion.

The French aircraft interiors and maintenance sector can support the performance of the regional industry

Following the pandemic, the MRO sector is undergoing a major shift and has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for resilience, expanding its scope of activities to include air freight (conversion of aircraft), as well as air and land military markets, to counter the fluctuations in the civil market, in a region being a global hub for international trade. Here again, French businesses can offer innovative solutions in many areas to support the recovering market: real-time tracking of aircraft in flight using IoT solutions, digital twin planning technologies, the use of predictive maintenance systems, drone assistance, etc.

France: 3rd largest supplier to the United Arab Emirates in the aeronautical industry

With total revenue of €52.9 billion (69% civil and 31% defence) of which €35.1 billion was generated from exports, the French aeronautics and space sector is the largest contributor to the positive balance of France’s foreign trade and, as such, one of the pillars of domestic industry. It represents around 300,000 industrial jobs and counts among its ranks major world leaders such as Airbus, Dassault, Thales and Safran, as well as a large network of subcontractors.

France remains the European leader and ranks 2^nd in the world in the aeronautics and aerospace sectors. As a result of its recognised expertise in the area, France ranks 3^rd among the United Arab Emirates’ aviation suppliers.