Dubai, United Arab Emirates; September 2026 – GE Aerospace has contributed industry perspective to a new white paper examining how the UAE can unlock its next stage of growth through strong industry alignment to become a leading aviation maintenance hub.
Developed by Aviation Business Middle East, the white paper titled Advancing Strategic Alignment Across the UAE MRO Ecosystem was unveiled today in Dubai. The white paper brings together perspectives from across the aviation industry to showcase the depth of MRO expertise that already exists in the UAE and examine how collaboration could help the sector go even further.
According to Oliver Wyman, global MRO spending is forecast to approach US$193 billion by the end of the decade, driven by factors including aging fleets, aircraft delivery delays, engine durability challenges and limited shop capacity. While engine maintenance represents a significant part of that opportunity, the white paper takes a wider view of the UAE MRO ecosystem, examining opportunities across engine services, airframe maintenance, component repair, specialist engineering and the broader aviation aftermarket.
The central premise of the research is not that the UAE needs to create an MRO industry from the ground up. Substantial infrastructure, expertise and investment are already in place. Instead, the white paper looks at how the sector can build on that foundation, strengthen connections between complementary strengths and position itself to capture a greater share of increasingly complex and high-value MRO work.
The study incorporates perspectives from Emirates Engineering, Sanad, GE Aerospace, Boeing, Airbus, AMMROC and ExecuJet, among others, alongside international learnings from established MRO markets. It serves as a call to action for the industry: to recognise what has already been achieved, increase visibility around the capabilities that exist today, and identify where greater collaboration, partnership and alignment could help move the UAE MRO sector to its next stage of development.
Aziz Koleilat, GE Aerospace’s President & CEO for METCIS said, “GE Aerospace has worked alongside the UAE’s aviation industry for decades, and what stands out is the depth of specialist expertise already established. This white paper shows that when operators, OEMs and MRO providers align around shared technical standards and long-term investments are supported by the right regulatory and policy environment, the region’s collective strength grows faster than any single organisation could achieve alone.”
Ajinkya Gurav, Editor at Aviation Business Middle East said, “The UAE’s MRO sector is already robust – deep technical expertise, strong OEM relationships and some of the busiest fleets in the world all sit within a few hours of each other. What this white paper shows is that if the industry brings those pieces into closer alignment, it can capture a share of global MRO demand that matches its true potential.”
As part of the research, the white paper models three potential trajectories for the UAE MRO sector through to 2035, examining how different levels of industry alignment and capability development could shape its evolution. The scenarios start from a position of strength. The task now is development, not construction. With the right technical standards and policy frameworks in place, the UAE has a genuine opportunity to build on the strengths of its individual players and develop a more capable national MRO ecosystem.
The white paper reflects the views and analysis of Aviation Business Middle East. GE Aerospace contributed industry perspectives but does not endorse all conclusions or recommendations contained in the publication.
About GE Aerospace:
GE Aerospace is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems leader with an installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military aircraft engines. With a global team of approximately 57,000 employees building on more than a century of innovation and learning, GE Aerospace is committed to inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow, and the future at http://www.geaerospace.com.
