Aircraft engine supplier GE Aerospace is boosting its operations in the Middle East with an additional $10 million of investment, aiming to support the region's manufacturing push.
It is part of GE Aerospace’s global and multiyear $1 billion maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) spending commitment it announced in 2024, which aims to ensure that its facilities in the Middle East have the capacity to meet growing demand for services across the installed base of GE Aerospace and CFM, its joint venture with France's Safran Aircraft Engines.
As well as investing in its hubs in Dubai and Doha, plans are afoot to increase the US company's workforce by 30 per cent, in addition to providing funding for other potential investment opportunities in the region, GE Aerospace announced on the sidelines of the MRO Middle East aviation summit in Dubai on Monday.
“Airlines in the region have ambitious growth plans that depend on keeping engines on wing and operating efficiently,” Aziz Koleilat, GE Aerospace's president and chief executive for the Middle East, Turkey and the CIS, said in a statement.
“Expanding our MRO capacity means we can work on more engines and there is more we can do to those engines. It is part of our commitment to meeting our local customers’ needs and expectations during a critical period for the industry.”
Regional airlines, particularly in the Gulf, had a strong year of profitability amid consistent strong demand for air travel, a push to increase international tourist arrivals, investment in airport upgrades and government policies designed to boost the aviation sector's contribution to the GDP.
Airlines in the Middle East earned the highest profit per passenger for any region at $21.10, about triple the average for global airlines, in 2024, the International Air Transport Association said in December.
In terms of passenger demand, airlines in the Middle East last year posted a 9.4 per cent annual rise in traffic, climbing 7.7 per cent in December alone, contributing to a record year in 2024, in which global full-year traffic soared 10.4 per cent over the previous year, which was also 3.8 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, the Geneva-based body said last month.
Global cargo traffic also hit a high last year, with the Middle East posting a 13 per cent growth year-on-year, Iata said.
"As supply chain challenges continue to impact airlines globally, we are moving proactively to grow our capabilities to support an increase in capacity", said Alex Henderson, the company's general manager of on-wing support leader.
The company's investment is expected to boost quick-turn maintenance tasks, which can then be performed closer to where airlines in the Middle East are based, GE Aerospace said.
The facilities will now be able to perform additional work scopes on CFM Leap engines. Currently, more than 750 Leap-1A and Leap-1B engines are used by more than 20 airlines in the Middle East, Turkey and CIS region.
The investment is also preparing GE Aerospace’s facilities to handle the arrival of the world’s largest and most powerful commercial jet engine, the GE9X, which will power the Boeing 777X. The Middle East is the largest market globally for GE9X engine orders, the company said.
In addition, GE Aerospace will also be boosting training, it said.
"By adding team members and training modules, including using a fully equipped training engine, the on-wing support facilities will be able to bring new employees on board and support them in reaching certification levels more quickly," the company said.
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Business Insights
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- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
The national orchestra
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- Con Coughlin: Choice of the British people will be vindicated
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Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
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RESULTS
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
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Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Tomorrow 2021
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
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Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
