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. 

How is Capacity Split between Low-Cost and Mainline?

• Low cost carriers have increased their share of the Middle East market by 1 percentage point this month, up to 28%,  undoubtedly driven in part by the strong growth from Flynas in Saudi Arabia.
• Flyadaal, Air Arabia, FlyDubai and Jazeera Airways are all recording steady growth this month too, ranging from 5-7% year on year. 
• Capacity in the Middle East is up by 7.8% this month compared to July last year, though down a little on last month.  
• Domestic capacity growth has also slowed a little compared to last month, although still very strong at 9.5% ahead of July 2023. 
• Growth is being driven this month by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, collectively adding over 1m seats this month compared to last year. 

Which is the Busiest Airport in the Middle East?

• The patterns emerging in airline growth are mirrored in the airport trends. 
• Fastest growing amongst the biggest airports again this month is Abu Dhabi's Zayed International with growth this month of 29.3% on last July, driven by strong growth from Etihad and other carriers. 
• Saudi Arabia's second largest airport, Riyadh is also showing strong growth, with 11.5% more seats this month compared to last July. 
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