Middle East's First Hot Air Balloon Museum Set for UAE Launch
The UAE Hot Air Balloon Team has signed an international agreement with Japan’s Saga Balloon Museum to establish the Middle East’s first specialized ballooning facility, designated as the UAE Balloon Museum 7. The partnership places regional aviation specialists, researchers, and cultural institutions into a global network that previously had no presence in the Middle East.
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Operated and managed by Emirati professionals, the facility joins six existing institutions worldwide, located in Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the United States, which houses two sites. The agreement was finalized during an official delegation visit to the Saga International Balloon Fiesta and the 39th Pacific Cup in Saga, Japan, where delegates reviewed operational systems and management technologies used in specialized aviation exhibits.
Captain Abdulaziz Nasser Al Mansoori, Head of the UAE Hot Air Balloon Team, confirmed that the institution will operate as a training and educational hub to transfer technical operational expertise to local talent. The venue will archive international ballooning history, showcase manufacturing technologies, and document the UAE team’s flight history, including missions carrying the official slogan honoring the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Kiyoshi Mori, Deputy Director of the Saga Balloon Museum, confirmed full institutional support for the project, noting that the UAE team became the first to have an Arabic name inscribed on the Saga museum’s honor boards during its initial participation in Japan in 2006.
