Home to some of the busiest airports such as Doha, Dubai, Jeddah King Abdulaziz, and Riyadh King Khaled International Airport, the Middle East has a thriving Aviation market.
With the exponential rise of middle-class travelers to this region, there’s a growing demand for Low Cost Carriers.
And, with increasing air traffic and new airports taking the center stage, the Aviation Market in the Middle East is set to grow steadily at a CAGR of 5.12 percent from 2014-2019.
Middle East: A Sought After Travel Destination
Owing to infrastructural development, the Middle East is becoming a new hub for leisure and business activities.
International events held in the Middle East have gained worldwide popularity and have augmented the demand for airports and airlines. For instance, the Dubai Shopping Festival offers discounts on various FMCG products and electronic devices.
The Qatar Airways and the Qatar Tourism Authority hold the Qatar International Food Festival annually. It showcases cuisines from around the world and has turned out to be a popular destination for family entertainment and fun.
Open Sky Policy Gaining Altitude
By minimizing government intervention and liberalizing the rules of Aviation, the Open Sky policy is all set to deregulate international Aviation. In the coming years, it will largely influence the Middle East region’s commercial aviation sector, to create a free-market environment for the Airline industry.
Recently UAE has signed more than 160 air services agreements, of which the majority of them are Open Sky policies.
Also, Saudi Arabia is moving toward opening its domestic markets with the adoption of such policies.
Expanding Airports and Airliners
There is significant action in the Middle East in terms of expansion of existing infrastructure. The Abu Dhabi International Airport has decided to expand its airport terminal at a cost of approximately US$6.8 billion. The expansion would conclude by 2017 to change the Abu Dhabi skyline forever.
The Hamad International Airport is a newly built international airport in Doha owned by Qatar Airways and operated by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.
Low-Cost Carriers in the Middle East which include airlines like Air Arabia, Al Jazeera, and Flydubai are laying out expansion plans as travel and tourism is growing in the region.
Since its inception, flydubai has launched flights to 65 destinations, creating 46 new routes that were previously not available to travelers from Dubai.
