Middle East Aviation Market

Monthly Middle East Airline Data Updates

DISCOVER THE BUSIEST AIRPORTS, AIRLINES AND COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST THIS MONTH | October 2024

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. 

Last update: 26th September with schedule data for October.

 

Airline Capacity in the Middle East 

  • Capacity in the Middle East is up by 3.9% this month compared to last October, which is up slightly from the growth rate in September 2024 which stood at 3.4%. 
  • Domestic capacity growth remains strong,  up 10.5% compared to October 2023, whilst international capacity growth for this month is up 1.6% on the same month last year.    
  • This month there are 4.2m domestic seats in the Middle East, up 402,000 on last year, and 18.5m international seats, which have increased by 449,000. 

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

  • This month LCC share is 29% of total capacity, which is the same as last month but up from 28% last October.
  • LCC capacity continues to grow at a faster rate than Mainline, up by 6.7% compared to 2.8% for Mainline.  

Top 10 Middle East Country Markets 

 

Which Middle Eastern Country Has Most Airline Capacity?

  • The country with the fastest growth rate this month compared to last October is Bahrain, where seats have increased by 12%.
  • Five of the Top 10 countries are declining this month compared to October 2023, ranging from between -6.2% (Kuwait) through to -19.9% (Iraq),
     with Jordan, Oman and Israel making up the five countries in decline.
  • Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seeing capacity increase by a similar volume,  with between 618,000 and 622,000 additional seats. 

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Top Ten Middle East Airports

 

Which is the Busiest Airport in the Middle East?

  • Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport is fastest growing of the Top 10 airports in the region this month, with an increase of 21.3% in seats which equates to 262,000 additional seats from last October.
  • The only change in the Top 10 airport ranking positions compared to last month is where Dammam overtook Muscat as the 9th largest airport in the region
  • Busiest Airports in the World - data on the busiest global airports | View Now

Top Ten Middle East Airlines (One way, departing seats) 

 

Which is the biggest Middle Eastern airline?

  • Carriers adding most seats this month compared to last October are FLYNAS with an additional 248,000 seats (an increase of 26%); 
    followed by Etihad with 220,000 more seats (a 25% increase); and Saudia with 148,000 more seats (up 6%).
  • Gulf Air recorded the fastest growth rate this month, with the carrier increasing seats by 27% compared to last October, equivalent to 127,000 more seats. 

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