The success of Etihad Flight College in Al Ain underscores the UAE’s position as a major international aviation hub. As The National reported yesterday, the college has an intake of up to 120 cadets each year and trains pilots for Etihad and other international airlines. Significantly, 230 Emirati pilots have graduated from the college since 2006. The institute insists on cadets having an aviation science degree and it trains in English under a programme that prepares graduates for immediate second officer status on commercial airlines.
The college complements three other UAE institutions – the Emirates Aviation College, Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies and Dubai Aviation College – that provide higher education in aviation studies and airport operations. Together, they will help the UAE to address its own growing needs for airline and airport staff, and the needs of the region. A report from Boeing reveals that the Middle East will need more than 6,000 pilots and technicians each year over the next two decades.
But it’s not just in pilot training that the UAE is making its mark. The aviation industry has been growing steadily, contributing to the diversification of the economy and creating a large number of jobs in a wide range of sectors. The sector is expected to contribute Dh194.5 billion to the economy by 2020.
Mubadala’s Strata Manufacturing plant, also in Al Ain, is building aircraft components for both Boeing and Airbus, and will employ a further 600 people by 2017. The country’s three major airports – Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Maktoum – are all growing, building infrastructure and creating hundreds of jobs on the ground and in the air.
With a record-breaking 68.9 million passengers transiting Dubai International alone last year, the economic potential is obvious.
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
