Middle East Aviation Market

Which is the biggest airline in the Middle East? Where is the busiest airport in the region? Which countries have the most airline capacity and how is this split between low-cost and mainline carriers? All of these questions and more are answered in our monthly Middle East aviation data analysis and commentary. Data is sourced from OAG's Schedules Analyser; a cutting-edge platform for airline schedule analysis. 

• Capacity across the Middle East is expected to increase by 4.5% this month vs last year, to 23m seats.
• International capacity, which represents 81.3% of the market, grew by 5.1% vs April 2024, 905,800 additional seats to 18.7m seats.
• Domestic capacity represents 18.7% of the market and grew by only 1.9% vs April 2024.
  

How is Capacity Split between Low-Cost and Mainline in the Middle East?

• LCCs continue to account for 29% of capacity in the Middle East this month, growing by 8.1% vs April 2024. Mainline carriers account for the remaining 71% of the capacity in the market and grew at a slower rate of 3% vs last year.
  

Which is the Busiest Airport in the Middle East?

• Dubai (DXB) remains the region's largest airport again this month, with the hub handling 5m seats, an increase of 2.9% vs last year.
• The airport with the fastest growth rate in the Top 10 is Tel Aviv again this month, up 57% which is 412,500 more seats than last April.
• Capacity declined again in both Kuwait and Muscat this month, reducing by 5.9% and 0.5% respectively vs last year.
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