Trouble in the Middle East sees ACS private jet business in Dubai flourish.

Dmitriy Korshunov, General Manager of ACS Dubai, said: “We have done three times as much business so far this year compared to last, and a lot of this growth can be put down to the disruptions in the region. In February alone ACS’s worldwide offices arranged charters that evacuated more than 10,000 foreign nationals from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. This continued into March and even April with our office here being ideally situated to assist coordinating a lot of our other offices’ evacuation flights.”

Korshunov (pictured above) continued: “A knock on effect of the unrest has meant that the Emirates, and particularly Dubai, has become an even more attractive holiday destination than usual this year, as the various troubles have put many travellers off visiting the affected countries. Millions of holidaymakers visit Egypt and Tunisia every year, so the UAE will be looking to ‘inherit’ many more of these tourists, some of whom will charter private jets and helicopters.

“Having said that, the market for private jets for business purposes is also on the up in the country - the region as a whole has recovered quicker than many around the world after the economic slump of a couple of years ago, so we are also seeing business travellers booking more and more. The Middle East is an important business hub, and chartering executive jets for travel means that businessmen can optimise their time by travelling to their own schedules.”

Air Charter Service’s global offices arrange more than 5,000 full charters every year, consisting of tens of thousands of flights. The company’s turnover was US$ 350 million in 2010, and looks set to increase this year with three more offices being opened over the coming months expanding the company’s global reach even further.