✈️ Gama's $60 million Sharjah FBO faces headwinds at launch, as OMSJ business jet movements plunge 64%
Gama Aviation's $60 million new FBO at Sharjah's OMSJ opened on May 22, 2026, becoming the airport's sole business aviation tenant, positioned as a gateway hub serving Dubai and the Northern Emirates. However, the facility's completion coincides with traffic headwinds. Avi-Go data shows that OMSJ recorded only 306 business jet movements year-to-date in early 2026, a sharp 64.0% drop compared to 850 movements in the same period of 2025. March plummeted to just 23 movements, down 73.9% month-on-month, while Q1's total of 223 movements already accounted for 72.9% of the entire period, with traffic falling off a cliff thereafter. Among the Top 5 operators, Avcon Jet led with 65 movements, followed by Unicair and Fai Aviation with 16 movements each.
Impact: Under the dual pressure of a 13.09% year-on-year decline in the Middle East region in Q1 and continued diversion as Dubai South's DWC maintains over 82% market share, the new FBO will struggle in the short term to fill capacity through the airport's organic traffic, putting the $60 million investment payback period at risk of lengthening.
Recommendation: Gama should proactively lock in top operators such as Avcon Jet with base or fuel-commitment agreements before Q3 2026 to stabilize baseline traffic. At the same time, it should roll out differentiated ground handling and overnight parking packages targeting the Northern Emirates clientele within the year, avoiding head-to-head competition with DWC and falling into a price war.