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. 

In The middle East this month there are 38.9M scheduled airline seats, +7.8% year-on-year 

• Capacity across the Middle East grew 7.8% in March 2026 compared with March 2025, reaching 38.9 million seats.
• International capacity, which represents 88.3% of the market, increased by 8.5% compared with March 2025, adding 2.7 million seats to reach 34.3 million.
• Domestic capacity represents 11.7% of the market and grew by 3.1% year-on-year.
  

*As of July 2025, international capacity is reported on a two-way basis (previously one-way departing).

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

• Low-cost carriers now provide 28% of capacity in the Middle East, an increase of 11.2% compared with March 2025.
• Mainline carriers account for the remaining 72% of the capacity in the market and grew by 6.5% vs last year to 27.9m seats. 

*As of July 2025, international capacity is reported on a two-way basis (previously one-way departing).

Which is the Busiest Airport in the Middle East?

• Dubai (DXB) remains the Middle East’s busiest airport in March 2026, with capacity of 5.4 million seats, while Jeddah holds second place with 3 million seats.
• Tel Aviv remains the fastest-growing airport by capacity, with a 28% increase—adding 237,900 seats compared to last March.
• Riyadh and Sharjah also saw strong double-digit growth, with capacity up 18% and 15.8% respectively. In Riyadh, this equates to an additional 338,200 seats year-on-year.
• READY TO VIEW: The World's Busiest Airports of 2025