The growth of airlines in the Middle East reached the lowest level of this
decade in 2018. After years of double growth, the capacity increase in 2018
was a modest 3.1 percent.
 
In the period 2014 - 2016, the seat capacity increased by 10 to 13 percent
per year. In 2017 it already dropped to 6 percent and last year there was
therefore another halving.
 
This decrease is partly due to the misery at Etihad Airways, which is
restructuring as a result of billions in losses, and the reintroduction of
sanctions against Iran. The number of seats to and from Tehran Khomeini
Airport decreased by 7.5 percent.
 
But mega airport Dubai Airport is also not doing well. Capacity there
declined by 0.1 percent in the past year. A much larger decrease is
expected in 2019 because one of the two runways will close for months for
maintenance.
 
Flag carrier Emirates nevertheless remains the largest airline in the
region. With 83 million seats, she outnumbered the numbers two (Saudi
Arabian Airlines, 74 million) and three (Qatar Airways, 51 million) in
2018.

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