We found no licence called “aircraft broker” or “charter broker” in the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar. But three things can still apply to a broker: the aviation authority’s rules on who may sell or arrange air services, company licensing in the place you set up, and rules on foreign aircraft flying in. Regulators here do not publish plain-English broker guides. So this page separates what we could confirm from a regulator’s own page from what only commercial advisers claim.
That makes it a shorter, more cautious guide than our US licence guide and what Part 295 requires you to disclose. It is not legal advice. Before you trade, get a written answer from the authority for your business model.
Key points
- We found no GCC rule that names “aircraft broker” or “charter broker” as a licence category. That is a finding about what we could read, not a promise that none exists.
- Saudi Arabia: the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) lists two economic licences that sit near brokering: Commercial Agent for Aviation Service Providers, and General Aviation Support Service Provider. Neither page names brokers or charter operators.
- Qatar: Law No. 3 of 2025 requires a licence for “travel offices” and air freight offices, from 10 April 2025. Law-firm summaries do not say whether charter arranging counts.
- UAE: we could not read an official GCAA rule on brokers. Commercial setup guides say brokerage needs no air operator certificate (AOC), but they give no regulator source, and one free-zone page contradicts itself.
- A free-zone trade licence is a company licence. It is not permission from an aviation authority.
- Whoever flies the trip needs its own AOC and, for foreign aircraft, local permits. A broker cannot supply that.
How to think about GCC rules
Ask three questions in order. First, are you operating aircraft, or only arranging? Operating needs an AOC, which a broker should never claim. Second, does the authority treat arranging as an “agent” or “office” activity needing its own licence? Third, which company licence do you hold, and does its activity list include what you do?
The answers differ by country and can change. Treat any adviser’s blanket statement, including ours, as a prompt to ask the regulator.
Saudi Arabia: GACA economic licensing
GACA’s page on licensed aviation service providers describes two economic licence categories. The first is a Commercial Agent for Aviation Service Providers, covering airline-facing work such as reservations, ticketing, customer handling, regulatory liaison and financial administration. The second is a General Aviation Support Service Provider, which serves general and private aviation clients. Its tasks include government liaison, settling dues on a client’s behalf and coordinating communications before, during and after flights (GACA: licensed aviation service providers).
Neither description mentions brokers or charter operators. So we cannot say that a charter broker or sales agent must hold either licence, or that neither applies. A broker who arranges ground handling or permits for a client may be doing the second category’s work. Ask GACA’s Economic Licensing Department which category, if any, fits your contracts, and keep its reply.
Setting up the company is a separate step. Commercial guides describe a Ministry of Investment licence and commercial registration for foreign-owned firms, and a Regional Headquarters programme for multinational groups (Middle East Briefing guide, secondary source). We did not verify those details against the Ministry’s own pages. Foreign charter operators flying into the Kingdom have their own GACA rules. That is the operator’s job, not the broker’s.
United Arab Emirates: GCAA
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) regulates UAE aviation. Its pages were unavailable when we checked, so we cannot cite a GCAA rule on brokers. What we found instead:
- Commercial setup guides say charter brokerage can operate under a trade licence with no AOC, while flying the charter needs a GCAA-issued AOC. None cites a regulator.
- A free-zone page for a “charters” activity says both that it needs pre-approval from a Dubai civil aviation authority and that it needs no third-party approval beyond the trade licence (Meydan Free Zone activity page). That contradiction is why we do not rely on it.
The safe course is to ask the GCAA and your free-zone authority, in writing, whether your activity needs aviation approval, and to hold the answer on file.
Qatar: QCAA and Law No. 3 of 2025
Qatar’s Law No. 3 of 2025 regulates air travel offices and air freight offices. A law-firm summary says it took effect on 10 April 2025, limits licences to companies, removes individual licensing, and requires an unconditional bank guarantee in favour of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, with the amount set by a decision of the Authority’s president (Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners summary). The same summary says a Qatari company may now be wholly owned by non-Qataris.
The summary does not define “air travel office”, so we cannot tell you whether arranging private charters falls inside it. Press reports say the Authority has closed or deregistered agencies operating without a licence, so do not assume it does not. We did not read the law’s text or QCAA’s own pages. Ask the QCAA before you trade.
Free-zone company licensing: DWC, DAFZA and Riyadh
A free-zone licence lets a company trade from that zone. Whether it lets you broker aircraft depends on the activity codes the zone offers.
| Place | What we could confirm | What we could not |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai South (DWC) | The free zone’s authority issues trade licences, and the zone is built around an aerospace hub | An official list of aviation activities, or any broker or charter code |
| Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA) | Its site sets out licence types, including trade licences | An official activity list showing charter brokerage; advisers mention aviation trading codes and possible no-objection certificates |
| Riyadh / Saudi mainland | Foreign firms register through the Ministry of Investment, according to commercial guides | How GACA licensing links to that registration |
Ask for the exact activity wording that will appear on your licence, and whether any no-objection certificate (NOC) from an aviation authority is needed. A licence that says “aircraft trading” may not cover chartering.
What a broker actually needs
From what we could confirm, a careful GCC broker should have:
- A company licence whose activity wording matches what you do, from the zone or ministry where you set up.
- A written answer from the aviation authority (GACA, GCAA or QCAA) on whether your model needs a separate licence.
- A check that the operator holds a valid AOC for the aircraft, plus any permits for foreign aircraft entering the country.
- Clear wording to clients that you arrange flights and do not operate them.
- A local aviation lawyer for your first contract.
How this compares to the US (Part 295)
In the US, 14 CFR Part 295 gives charter brokers one written set of rules: name the operating carrier, disclose your role, do not mislead. It creates no licence. GCC states regulate through the aviation authority and company licensing, and the published rules for brokers are thin. Compare the detail in our US licence guide and what Part 295 requires you to disclose.
Where training fits
Training teaches how brokering works: operators, quoting, due diligence, client handling. It does not satisfy a local licensing rule. See our air charter broker training and aircraft sales broker training guides. IABI, which publishes this guide, sells a charter broker course. Its certificate is a private training credential, not a licence, and no course can promise a job, an income or a licence.
Free from IABI · IABI publishes this guide
Want to talk it through before you spend anything?
IABI runs a free webinar on how to become an aircraft broker, and offers a free one-to-one consultation. Both are a way to ask questions and judge the teaching for yourself before paying for any course.
Other country guides: United States, UK and Europe, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Canada, India and Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a GACA licence to be a charter broker in Saudi Arabia?
We could not confirm that. GACA’s licensed-provider page lists two categories near brokering and names neither brokers nor charter operators. Ask GACA’s Economic Licensing Department in writing.
Can I broker charters from a UAE free zone without an AOC?
Commercial guides say yes, with the AOC held by the operator. We found no regulator page that confirms it. Ask the GCAA and the free-zone authority.
Is a free-zone licence an aviation licence?
No. It is a company licence. Aviation permissions come from the aviation authority.
Sources
Regulator and statute pages are listed first. Every page below was checked on 17 October 2026. Where a regulator page could not be read, the claim is worded cautiously in the text and flagged to the site owner.
- GACA (Saudi Arabia), List of licensed aviation service providers
- Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners, Qatar Law No. 3 of 2025 summary (law firm, not the regulator)
- Meydan Free Zone, charters activity page (self-contradictory, see text)
- Dubai South Free Zone
- Dubai Airport Freezone, business setup process
- Middle East Briefing, Saudi business licence types (secondary source)