Thanks in part to a strategically important geographical location and efforts from some countries, specifically Saudi Arabia, to increase tourism, the Middle East aviation sector has grown considerably in recent years, ignoring the COVID-19 pandemic and the global travel restrictions it created. Saudi Arabia, as part of its Vision 2030 plan, is spending hundreds of billions of dollars in private and public funds to build new hotels, airports, roads, and major tourist attractions. Similarly, Qatar recently hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup and is developing prominent attractions like Doha Winter Wonderland and Qetaifan Island North.
The Centre for Aviation projects the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions will make up 58 percent of all global air passenger travel by 2040. To meet demand, countries in the Middle East will have to invest more than $150 billion in aviation. At the moment, the Middle East has more than 110 airports and is among the world’s fastest-growing regions with regards to air travel. Only three of the top 10 busiest air traffic routes from October 2021 to September 2022 didn’t involve an airport in the Middle East.
Below is a look at five of the busiest airports in the Middle East.
1. Dubai International Airport (UAE)
The Dubai International Airport, opened in 1960, is the busiest airport in the Middle East and the fifth busiest in the world. It hosted more than 19,000 passenger flights during the first quarter of 2021 as travel restrictions began to be lifted. In 2022, it welcomed more than 66 million passengers. The three-terminal airport, covering over 7,100 acres of land, was previously the world’s busiest airport for four consecutive years. It also accounts for the world’s second-busiest airline route, with 40 flights each day connecting passengers to King Khalid International Airport.
Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport is among the largest in the world. The 1.71-million-square-foot facility, home to the Dubai International Hotel, has four levels and an annual capacity of 60 million passengers. It also has amenities including prayer rooms, a medical center, currency exchange offices, restaurants, and 20 sleeping pods, each of which is outfitted with a mattress, blanket, pillow, sheet, and disposable headrest cover.
2. Hamad International Airport (Qatar)
Qatar’s Hamad International Airport, located in Doha, welcomed more than 15,000 passenger flights during the first quarter of 2021. This marked a 35 percent decline from the year prior—before the start of the pandemic. Roughly 25 million people pass through the Hamad International Airport each year, which is a considerable increase from the 5 million people that traveled through the airport a decade ago. Expansion efforts have been ongoing since 2006 and, now in the third phase, will boost annual passenger capacity to 53 million once complete.
Hamad International Airport was voted the best airport in the world at the 2021 Skytrax World Airport Awards and referred to as “arguably the most architecturally significant terminal complex in the world, as well as being the most luxurious,” by Wallpaper Magazine. Hospitality features include a public mosque and separate prayer rooms, a pair of 5-star transfer hotels, more than two dozen restaurants, and 270,000 square feet of duty-free shopping.
3. King Khalid International Airport (Saudi Arabia)
The other three of the top five busiest airports in the Middle East are in Saudi Arabia. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as previously mentioned, is the home of the world’s second-busiest airline route. During the first quarter of 2021, it tracked 14,889 flights, down 25 percent from the same period in 2020. Designed by the same engineering firm that created the Hamad International Airport, it opened in 1983 and was the world’s largest airport until 1999.
King Khalid International Airport has five terminals, the most recent of which opened in 2016 and can handle over 12 million passengers per year. It also has one of the tallest air control towers in the world and 40 passenger boarding bridges.
4. King Abdulaziz International Airport (Saudi Arabia)
King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah had one of the largest declines in year-over-year flights from 2020 to 2021 at 48 percent, but it was still the fourth busiest in the Middle East. The airport, which opened in 1981, introduced one of the world’s largest passenger lounges, with a daily capacity of more than 10,000 people, in 2021 and has the world’s largest aircraft capacity. It is especially busy during the Hajj and has a dedicated terminal for pilgrims traveling to Mecca.
5. King Fahd International Airport (Saudi Arabia)
King Fahd International Airport in Dammam tracked 5,648 flights during the first quarter of 2020. Despite being the third busiest airport in Saudi Arabia during that time, it is the largest airport in the world based on square footage. It has 110 passenger counters, including 44 for foreign carriers. The airport has an on-site plant nursery with 391,000 square feet of green space and a mosque built atop the airport parking lot.