Jetex has seen business boom at its marquee VIP terminal at Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) as Covid-19 has caused a dearth of first-class flights at UAE airline Emirates, which is today flying to only around half of the destinations it normally serves. “I expect the second half of 2020 to [see] 200 percent growth compared to [the same period] last year,” Jetex founder and CEO Adel Mardini told AIN.

He said he sometimes saw as many as 20 to 25 flights a day going through Jetex’s VIP terminal since April. “I would say 70 percent of our new customers are coming from Emirates and Etihad’s first-class clientele. People who used to fly 10 times a year in first class are now flying three times by private jet—and it’s the same budget. The more airlines shut down, the more business will come to us,” Mardini said.

Jetex has been recruiting every day, he said. “Employee headcount [globally] is up from 465 last year to 540 today." At its Dubai facility, Mardini added that he expects flights in the second half of the year to be more than double than that of last year. "If we continue on the same trajectory, I will close the second half with more than 2,000 flights [at DWC],” he concluded.