Valo Aviation becomes Bahrain’s first business jet operator
November 13, 2024
Following today’s receipt of its Bahraini Air Operators Certificate (AOC), Valo Aviation has become the Kingdom’s inaugural business jet operator – aiming to be a full-service provider with as many as 15 managed aircraft within the next two years; combining aircraft management, charter services, maintenance provision and flight support services from its home base of Manama.
The name itself – alongside being “short and easy to pronounce” – draws on dual meanings of ‘value’ (Arabic) and ‘light’ (Finnish), both qualities that CEO Hanna Hakamo intends to bring to a sector she believes has been woefully underserved within the region. With a firm grounding running a leading European MRO company since 2016, “as a woman, I felt Bahrain is the right place to establish a business,” she explained; elaborating that she “loves to be here… it’s a very friendly environment and [Valo feels] this is home”..
Citing optimal timing and location, Hakamo believes that now is the time to offer something currently only available in neighbouring regions – remining confident in the need for the business aviation sector to grow within the Kingdom.
Today’s celebration marks the culmination of a process two years in the making, explains Hakamo, who describes the application to obtain the AOC as having been “in the final phase” for about two months. Admittedly, it was a process containing moments of uncertainty, with Hakamo highlighting that a lot of existing regulation is geared towards airline operations and that “it needed a lot of work to make this happen”. Ultimately, however, Hakamo is keen to “celebrate the good bits” of the two-year regulatory journey.
Valo Aviation’s operations will consist of chartering aircraft on behalf of owners- with its inaugural managed aircraft (an essential element to obtaining the Bahraini AOC) a Kuwaiti-owned Gulfstream G550. However, with a keen eye on attracting corporations and individuals who own their own aircraft, Hakamo intends to expand this number exponentially. The company’s some 25 employees will allow Valo to serve up to five aircraft without the need for expansion, although Hakamo hopes this will rise to double-digits by 2026.
However, the construction of a custom-designed hangar at Manama will allow Valo to become a full-service operator; a critical element of its future operations. As such, it is already in the process of applying for ANTR 145 permission (the Bahraini equivalent of EASA/FAA Part-145 approval) from the Bahrain civil aviation authority. This location will also be beneficial for visitors traveling to the Bahrain Grand Prix, which welcomed a record-high 11,000 international fans to the 2023 race weekend; augmenting what was also the highest ever single day of in-person spectators (over 100,000).
Despite Hakamo stressing that Valo has no intentions to own any aircraft itself (and remains platform-agnostic), she nevertheless stresses the ongoing synergy between two brands in particular – defining Gulfstream and Dassault as “familiar brands, brands we love ourselves”.
