At the "Paris Air Show" (June 16-22), Leonardo and Aloula Aviation, a brand name of Mukamalah Aviation company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Aramco) announced a major achievement for the operator’s AW139 intermediate twin engine helicopter fleet, setting a 300,000 flight hours milestone in operations.

Aloula Aviation is one of the largest operators of Leonardo helicopters in the Middle East. It has been operating AW-139s since 2008 and AW-109 light twins since 2006, mainly to perform off-shore transport missions in Saudi Arabia in support of the oil and gas industry. Today’s Aloula AW-139 fleet consists of 27 units, and additional AW-139s will be added this year. 

With nearly 1,500 units ordered by more than 300 customers from around 90 Nations and over 4.5 million flight hours logged to date since its certification in 2004, the AW-139 has also proven extremely successful for rescue and emergency missions. 

Mukamalah Aviation Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aramco, operating under the brand name “Aloula Aviation", is the first civil aviation company in Saudi Arabia and the second in the Middle East. It traces its origins to 1934, when the first aircraft was introduced by Aramco to support oil exploration operations in the Kingdom’s vast deserts. From its headquarters in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Aloula operates 55 aircraft of different types. Aloula maintains its vast fleet in hangars across a number of key locations. In addition to operating and maintaining these aircraft, Aloula regularly serves different airports throughout Saudi Arabia, a number of which Aloula fully manages, serves, and operates, and more than 300 helipads, both on and off-shore. 

At the same event in Paris Leonardo and Falcon Aviation Services marked another milestone in their longstanding partnership with the announcement of a new order for an AW-139 intermediate twin-engine helicopter. The aircraft, ordered by Falcon Aviation’s owner His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will feature a VVIP 8-seater configuration, hinged doors and a range of latest generation on board comfort and entertainment equipment. 

Falcon Aviation, one of the UAE’s leading aviation service providers, will operate the helicopter for VVIP Charter. The aircraft is expected to enter service in 2027, further enhancing the company's high-end offering in the region. 

In UAE the AW-139 is highly successful for both passenger and offshore transport, public services and rescue duties.

Falcon Aviation has a long-term partnership with Leonardo as a helicopter operator and has played a key role in deploying Leonardo’s cutting-edge rotorcraft technology across the UAE. The company has placed orders for several AW-109 GrandNew light twins, AW-169 intermediate twins and AW-189 super medium twin-engine helicopters for energy support operations both in the UAE and internationally as well as for passenger transport duties. In 2024, Falcon Aviation placed an order for its first AW-139 to support off-shore transport, making this operator another prime user of the entire AW Family of latest generation helicopters of Leonardo. Last year’s step allowed Falcon Aviation to prepare to deliver complementary services in terms of capacity and range, in a weight/size category perfectly fitting between the AW-169 and AW-189, becoming even more competitive to meet emerging market requirements in UAE and across other geographies.