The Middle East region needs at least 5,000 pilots over the next five years and at least 15,000 skilled aircraft engineers and technicians over the next 10 years.

“Aviation offers well-paying jobs, which in turn fosters prosperity, which could promote peace,” Air Arabia Chief Executive Adil al-Ali tells the 5th Arabian Aviation and Media Summit held on 7 December.

Al-Ali further explained that high unemployment is a common problem among all Arab countries, and an investment in a country’s aviation sector could help address the problem. “We have an industry that has the potential to absorb millions of jobs,” the executive said, adding that an investment in aviation is never wasted because it is an industry that “pays back.”

Al-Ali said continuous investment into the sector is required in order to cater to rising travel demand and for countries in the region to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the sector.

“We have barely tapped into this opportunity. The skies are falling, the air traffic in fact reflects the state of road traffic across the region…but the industry’s recognition of the problem has allowed us to introduce gradual changes in recent years,” he stated.

The aviation sector currently accounts for an average of 3.5 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), and higher for countries that have a well-developed aviation sector. It also accounts for 1 of every 11 jobs globally.