Licensable activity
Aviation
Air transport, aircraft maintenance and overhaul, ground handling, air cargo, aviation parts trading and aviation consultancy.
Classification
How it is coded.
UAE activity lists derive from ISIC Revision 4, the United Nations industrial classification. Each emirate's economic department and each free zone then extends that base with its own numbering, so the same activity carries a different code in Dubai than it does in Sharjah or inside DMCC.
- ISIC Rev. 4
- Section H — division 51 (air transport); Section C — division 33 (repair and maintenance)
- Licence category
- Commercial
- Regulator
- General Civil Aviation Authority
Approvals beyond the licence
- Any operational activity
- GCAA — this is a substantial certification process, not a filing.
- Air operator certificate
- Wholly separate from and far longer than company licensing. Budget in quarters.
- Airport access
- The airport operator's own approval regime.
In practice
DAFZA, ADAFZ and Dubai South put you inside the perimeter, which for maintenance and cargo handling is the entire point. Parts trading and consultancy can sit anywhere.
Coverage
Where it can be licensed.
Of the 40 licensing authorities across the UAE, 3 issue licences covering this activity, spread across 2 of the seven emirates.