Middle East aviation market briefing
Monthly Middle Eastern airline data updates
October 2026
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How much airline capacity does the Middle East have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: October 2025 vs October 2026
Are low cost carriers growing in the Middle East?
Low Cost Carriers represent 27% of the market and reduced capacity by 5.2% vs last year.
Mainline carriers account for the remaining 73% of the capacity in the market and contracted by 5.9% vs last year to 26.2m seats.
Mainline vs low-cost
Which Middle Eastern country has the most airline seats?
United Arab Emirates is the largest market, with 7.2m, and Saudi Arabia is a close second largest with 7.1m seats in October 26.
Capacity contracted in United Arab Emirates by 9.5% vs October 25 (754,500 fewer seats) and Saudi Arabia by 2% (147,600 fewer seats).
Within the Top 10 countries, capacity grew at the fastest rate in Jordan, increasing by 6.2% to 626,500 seats in October 26.
Capacity contracted by a further 37.3% in Iran (458,200 fewer seats) and 22.6% in Kuwait (201,000 fewer seats) vs October 25.
Top 10 countries by seat capacity
Top country gains in October 2026: Three countries in the top 10 grew capacity. Jordan grew fastest at +6.2% (+36,421 seats) to 0.63m seats. Israel grew 4.6% (+57,144 seats) to 1.30m seats, and Lebanon grew 2.8% (+10,341 seats) to 0.39m seats.
Top country losses in October 2026: Iran saw the sharpest percentage decline, down 37.3% (458,223 fewer seats), followed by Kuwait, down 22.6% (201,012 fewer seats). The UAE, now the largest market at 7.17m seats, fell 9.5% (754,474 fewer seats), while Saudi Arabia fell 2.0% (147,572 fewer seats) to 7.08m seats. Qatar declined 5.3%, Bahrain 5.1% and Oman 0.5%.
Which is the biggest airline in the Middle East?
Emirates remains the largest airline in the region, with the network carrier handling 3.1m seats, despite a reduction of 8% vs October 25.
Qatar Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines are a close second and third largest airline with 2.68m and 2.66m seats, with a smaller reduction of 1% in capacity for Qatar and 10% reduction for Saudi.
Within the Top 10 carriers in the Middle East, Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways increased capacity at the fastest rate, by 28% and 9% respectively vs last year.
Seat capacity by airline
Amongst the Top 10 carriers in the Middle East, Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways recorded the strongest capacity growth this month, increasing by 28.3% and 8.5% respectively vs last year. Gulf Air also grew at +2.1%; these were the only three carriers in the top 10 to add capacity. Emirates remains the largest carrier with 3.09m seats despite a reduction of 7.9%, while Qatar Airways (2.68m, −1.4%) moved ahead of Saudi Arabian Airlines (2.66m, −9.7%) into second place. Flydubai (−18.1%) and FLYNAS (−17.4%) recorded the sharpest declines.
Top 10 Middle East airlines by seats — October 2026
| No | Airline | Seats (Oct 2026) | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Emirates | 3.09m | −7.9% |
| 2. | Qatar Airways | 2.68m | −1.4% |
| 3. | Saudi Arabian Airlines | 2.66m | −9.7% |
| 4. | Etihad Airways | 1.43m | +8.5% |
| 5. | FLYNAS | 1.20m | −17.4% |
| 6. | Flydubai | 1.09m | −18.1% |
| 7. | flyadeal | 1.00m | −2.3% |
| 8. | Air Arabia | 0.86m | −8.2% |
| 9. | Gulf Air | 0.56m | +2.1% |
| 10. | Royal Jordanian | 0.51m | +28.3% |
What is the busiest airport in the Middle East?
Dubai (DXB) remains the region's largest airport, handling 4.6m seats. This represents a reduction of 14.3%, 765,100 fewer seats than in October 25.
Zayed International (Abu Dhabi) grew at the fastest rate in October 26, by 6.9% to 1.7m seats (109,000 additional seats). This is being driven by capacity increases by Etihad Airways.
Percentage wise, Kuwait reduced at the fastest rate, a 22.6% reduction in capacity vs October 25 (201,000 fewer seats).
Capacity in Jeddah reduced by 1% and was constant in Riyadh with 0.3% growth compared to last October.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | DXB | Dubai International | 4.57m | −14.3% |
| 2. | DOH | Doha (QA) | 2.64m | −5.3% |
| 3. | JED | Jeddah | 2.62m | −1.0% |
| 4. | RUH | Riyadh King Khalid Intl | 2.27m | +0.3% |
| 5. | AUH | Zayed International | 1.69m | +6.9% |
| 6. | TLV | Tel Aviv-yafo Ben Gurion International | 1.24m | +2.0% |
| 7. | SHJ | Sharjah | 0.84m | −3.7% |
| 8. | DMM | Dammam (SA) | 0.70m | −3.0% |
| 9. | KWI | Kuwait | 0.69m | −22.6% |
| 10. | MCT | Muscat | 0.68m | −0.1% |
Source: OAG · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Three airports in the top 10 grew capacity in October 2026: Abu Dhabi's Zayed International (+6.9% to 1.69m seats, 109,021 additional seats), Tel Aviv (+2.0% to 1.24m seats), and Riyadh (+0.3% to 2.27m seats). Dubai remains the largest airport at 4.57m seats despite a 14.3% decline (765,074 fewer seats).
Percentage wise, Kuwait reduced at the fastest rate, down 22.6% vs October 2025 (201,012 fewer seats). Doha (2.64m, −5.3%) is now the second busiest airport, narrowly ahead of Jeddah (2.62m, −1.0%).
Middle East aviation: frequently asked questions
Data is sourced from OAG's Schedules Analyser.
Download this month's data
Capacity across the Middle East remains below October 2025 by 5.7%, a drop of 2.2m seats
International capacity, which represents 88.4% of the market, reduced by 5.7% vs October 25 to 31.8m seats, 1.9m fewer seats.
Domestic capacity represents 11.6% of the market and contracted by 6% vs October 25.