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Not every UAE resident has had the opportunity to travel with a US president, but Sharief Fahmy did.
He was part of a team of mission directors on Air Force One in the 2000s during the George W Bush administration.
Mr Fahmy has been reflecting on his time on-board the “flying White House”, its “doomsday scenario”, how he narrowly avoided being in the Pentagon when it was hit by a plane on September 11, 2001, and his thoughts on US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East.
He helped oversee preparations for many vital missions that took the first family across the US and world, such as Mr Bush’s high-profile trip to Africa in 2003.
“My role was to manage the guests and their needs,” Mr Fahmy told The National. “It was a 24/7 job.”
While there were only certain aspects of the role he could reveal, Mr Fahmy recalled the Africa trip as being a significant visit and “resource intensive” from an operations perspective. “Credit cards were not widely accepted so we were managing large quantities of cash and figuring out how to pay for things,” he said.
He also recalled a flight to the US state of Iowa where family members and a friend visited the aircraft on the tarmac. He made it back to Washington DC in less time than their return to their house because of the authority Air Force One has. “Other planes get directed around you,” he said with a chuckle. “It is like a flying White House.”
A potent symbol
Emblazoned with the words United States of America, Air Force One is a potent symbol of US power. The jet has bedrooms, offices, a gym and chefs from Michelin-starred kitchens. It can function as a mobile command centre and take defensive countermeasures.
There are three sections – the front is for the president and guests; the middle for members of Congress and others; and the third is usually for the media.
Mr Fahmy shared an insight into the level of detail that goes into maintaining an Air Force One plane. For example, at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews, where the planes are based, there is an environmentally controlled room that has the original cedar wood from California that the Cabinets are made from.
“If somebody has scratched a cabinet in the conference room, maintenance can identify which block of tree it comes from and it can be redesigned,” he said. “It is a timeless machine.”
Prepared for any eventuality
Technically, any aircraft the president flies on becomes Air Force One but the term is most associated with the two modified Boeing 747 jumbo jets.
The current planes were chosen in the Ronald Reagan administration of the 1980s during the Cold War when the threat of nuclear war was real and, Mr Fahmy notes cryptically, they are designed to handle this.
“The assets are built and designed to manage that … doomsday scenario. The weight is very different on this aircraft.”
And forget just handing in a basic application to become a pilot. First you have to be the best of the best, pass an in-depth security clearance, and undergo rigorous training. Those that do pass the rare secretive process are usually majors in the army.
Mr Fahmy is the son of Egyptian immigrants who moved to Iowa in the 1960s. He joined the US Air Force in the 1990s as an officer and would go on to spend about two decades in the force. He started as a medic before moving to the Pentagon and then to the military office at the White House as captain.
Just before he started as mission director on Air Force One he was working at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, when he narrowly avoided being in the building when a hijacked plane hit during the infamous attacks. His office was in the Pentagon but he left for meetings nearby.
“We heard a sound, looked out and saw there was a huge billow of smoke coming out of the Pentagon. I know people who perished.”
His part of the building was not hit but the office was damaged by fire. He recalls a time in the days after 9/11 when his family in Iowa were reassured by the support they got in their hometown. It was an era before wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and when people were more unified, he said.
“They said the community had come together,” he said. “People brought flowers and left them at the steps of the [Islamic community centre]. There was a sense of unity.”
On Trump
Mr Fahmy came to Abu Dhabi in 2008 and spent five years as part of the mission in the US Embassy. He retired from the Air Force in 2013 as Lt Col. He then served as chief executive to the Dubai Air Show in 2013 and 2015 and now works as regional executive director for aerospace company Kaman. He is also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi.
Ahead of Mr Trump's UAE visit, and his apparent acceptance of a luxury plane from Qatar, Mr Fahmy said it was an “amazing gesture of friendship” but there were many other considerations to factor in.
“Presidential flying is not just a desk and phone,” he said. “There are complex systems. It takes time to get up to standard.” He said that Mr Trump's visit generally was “history in the making”.
“I’m here as an Arab-American and it feels how I grew up in the US. People from all over the world are working together at the top of their game,” he said. “It has been an amazing, historic trip. I’m very optimistic to see more peace after this visit and opportunities from a business perspective.”
Looking back at his time on-board what is arguably the most famous aircraft in the world, he said he was so immersed in the work that it was only when he left that the enormity of the role dawned on him.
“You look back and wonder – did that ever really happen? It was surreal.”
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
