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The official OAG ‘Busiest Airports in the World’ report confirms Dubai International Airport (DXB) remains the world’s busiest international airport with 4,569,653 seats for October 2026. OAG compares data year-on-year, aggregating schedules from 900+ airlines and 4,000 airports worldwide for its monthly reports.
Airspace constraints caused a 15% drop in total combined capacity at DXB, moving it from 2nd to 6th in combined global rankings. Meanwhile, Emirates, the flagship carrier that underpins DXB’s dominance, cut capacity by 7.9% to 3.09m seats.
“Our collective response to these challenges has sharpened our ability to adapt at pace. That readiness will enable us to accommodate returning demand as capacity is restored, reinforcing DXB’s role as a leading global hub, even as some regional routing constraints remain,” noted Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, addressing regional volatility earlier in the year.
Regional Hubs Adapt to Constraints
In October 2026, overall Middle Eastern seat capacity dropped 5.7% year-on-year to 35.9m scheduled seats, down from 38.1m in October 2025. International flights made up 88.4% of total capacity (down 5.7%), while domestic flights accounted for the remaining 11.6% (down 6%).
Jordan (+6.2%) and Lebanon (+2.8%) were the only top-10 Arab markets to increase capacity. The largest declines occurred in Kuwait (−22.6%), the UAE (−9.5%), Qatar (−5.3%), and Bahrain (−5.1%). Despite its drop, the UAE remained the largest market with 7.2m seats, closely followed by Saudi Arabia with 7.1m seats (−2.0%).
Internationally, large domestic markets led the global rankings: Atlanta (ATL) at #1 (5.44m seats), Chicago O’Hare (ORD) at #2 (5.00m), and Guangzhou (CAN) at #4 (4.67m).
Operational Shifts Reshape Hubs
Middle East aviation is rapidly adapting:
Abu Dhabi Zayed International (AUH) grew +6.9% to 1.70m seats, making it the region’s fastest-growing gateway. Growth was driven by Etihad Airways’ network expansion (+8.5% capacity), new African routes, and Indian cargo and passenger flows.
Istanbul Airport (IST) ranked 10th globally (4.37m seats) and 6th internationally (3.56m seats). It also topped the OAG Megahubs Connectivity Index with 337 destinations.
Doha Hamad International (DOH) remained second in the region with 2.64m seats (-5.3%), followed closely by Jeddah (JED) at 2.62m.
Dubai is speeding up its $35B Al Maktoum International expansion to reach 260m passengers, while Saudi Arabia pushes its Vision 2030 goals through Riyadh Air.
Operational flexibility and major infrastructure investments are reshaping aviation hubs across the Middle East.
Stay informed. Get the latest aviation and space news from the Arab world on WhatsApp and Telegram as soon as it is published, or subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly round-up. You can also add us to your preferred sources to see more of our stories in Google Search.
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/* Accessibility quick fixes (WCAG 2.2 AA test, 27 Oct 2026). Safe to switch off.
1 skip link · 2 form autofill · 3 language switcher name · 4 dark-mode button name and state
5 mobile menu state and focus · 6 heading levels for screen readers · 7 author photos
8 form errors linked to fields · 9 "opens in a new tab" for screen readers · 10 main content area */
(function () {
var isAr = (document.documentElement.lang || '').toLowerCase().indexOf('ar') === 0;
var T = isAr
? { skip: 'تخطَّ إلى المحتوى الرئيسي', dark: 'الوضع المظلم', newTab: ' (يُفتح في علامة تبويب جديدة)' }
: { skip: 'Skip to main content', dark: 'Dark mode', newTab: ' (opens in a new tab)' };function visible(el) {
if (!el) { return false; }
var r = el.getBoundingClientRect(), s = getComputedStyle(el);
return r.width > 0 && r.height > 0 && s.visibility !== 'hidden' && s.display !== 'none' && r.right > 0 && r.left < window.innerWidth;
}function run() {
/* 1. Skip link (WCAG 2.4.1): jumps to the first block after the site header */
var header = document.getElementById('theme-header');
var target = header ? header.nextElementSibling : null;
while (target && (target.tagName === 'SCRIPT' || target.tagName === 'STYLE')) { target = target.nextElementSibling; }
if (target && !document.querySelector('.aj-skip-link')) {
if (!target.id) { target.id = 'aj-main'; }
if (!target.hasAttribute('tabindex')) { target.setAttribute('tabindex', '-1'); }
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a.className = 'aj-skip-link';
a.href = '#' + target.id;
a.textContent = T.skip;
a.addEventListener('click', function () { setTimeout(function () { target.focus({ preventScroll: true }); }, 0); });
document.body.insertBefore(a, document.body.firstChild);
}/* 10. Main content area (WCAG 1.3.1): pages with none (the home pages) get one */
if (target && !document.querySelector('main, [role="main"]') && !target.querySelector('footer, #footer')) {
target.setAttribute('role', 'main');
}/* 2. Form autofill (WCAG 1.3.5) */
var inputs = document.querySelectorAll('form input');
for (var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++) {
var el = inputs[i];
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var l = ((el.labels && el.labels[0] && el.labels[0].textContent) || el.getAttribute('aria-label') || el.placeholder || '').toLowerCase().trim();
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else if (el.type === 'tel' || (/phone|هاتف|جوال/.test(l) && !/mail|بريد/.test(l))) { v = 'tel'; }
else if (/first_name/.test(n)) { v = 'given-name'; }
else if (/last_name/.test(n)) { v = 'family-name'; }
else if (el.type === 'text' && /^(name|full name|الاسم|الإسم)\b/.test(l)) { v = 'name'; }
else if (el.type === 'url') { v = 'url'; }
if (v) { el.setAttribute('autocomplete', v); }
}/* 3. Language switcher (WCAG 2.4.4, 3.1.2): name the target language in that language */
var sw = document.querySelectorAll('a.lang-toggle');
for (var s = 0; s < sw.length; s++) {
var toAr = /\/ar(\/|$)/.test(sw[s].getAttribute('href') || '');
var name = toAr ? 'العربية' : 'English';
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sw[s].setAttribute('title', name);
sw[s].setAttribute('lang', toAr ? 'ar' : 'en');
sw[s].setAttribute('hreflang', toAr ? 'ar' : 'en');
var ims = sw[s].querySelectorAll('img');
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}/* 4. Dark-mode button (WCAG 4.1.2): clear name, behaves as a toggle button that reports on/off */
var skins = document.querySelectorAll('a.change-skin');
function isDark() { return document.documentElement.classList.contains('dark-skin'); }
function syncSkin() { for (var q = 0; q < skins.length; q++) { skins[q].setAttribute('aria-pressed', isDark() ? 'true' : 'false'); } }
for (var d = 0; d < skins.length; d++) {
skins[d].setAttribute('role', 'button');
skins[d].setAttribute('aria-label', T.dark);
skins[d].setAttribute('title', T.dark);
skins[d].addEventListener('click', function () { setTimeout(syncSkin, 300); });
skins[d].addEventListener('keydown', function (e) { if (e.key === ' ') { e.preventDefault(); this.click(); } });
}
syncSkin();/* 5. Mobile menu (WCAG 4.1.2, 2.4.3): report open/closed, move focus in on open and back on close */
var btn = document.getElementById('mobile-menu-icon');
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btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'false');
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btn.setAttribute('aria-controls', panel.id);
var check = function (moveFocus) {
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btn.addEventListener('click', function () { check(true); });
var closers = panel.querySelectorAll('.close-side-aside');
for (var c = 0; c < closers.length; c++) { closers[c].addEventListener('click', function () { check('back'); }); }
document.addEventListener('keydown', function (e) {
if (e.key === 'Escape' && btn.getAttribute('aria-expanded') === 'true') {
setTimeout(function () {
/* the theme closes the menu on Escape in English but not in Arabic */
var x = panel.querySelector('.close-side-aside');
if (visible(panel) && x) { x.click(); }
check('back');
}, 150);
}
});
}/* 6. Heading levels (WCAG 1.3.1): no jumps for screen readers; looks unchanged */
var hs = document.querySelectorAll('h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6');
var prev = 0, hasH1 = !!document.querySelector('h1');
for (var h = 0; h < hs.length; h++) {
if (!visible(hs[h]) && !hs[h].closest('.side-aside')) { continue; }
var lvl = parseInt(hs[h].tagName.charAt(1), 10);
var eff = lvl;
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else if (prev && lvl > prev + 1) { eff = prev + 1; }
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prev = eff;
}/* 7. Author photos: describe a linked photo by the author's name (it is the link's name); otherwise decorative */
var boxes = document.querySelectorAll('.about-author, .author-box, .m-a-box, .molongui-author-box');
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for (var p = 0; p < pics.length; p++) {
var lk = pics[p].closest('a[href]');
var who = '';
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var byline = document.querySelector('a.author-name[href="' + lk.getAttribute('href') + '"]');
var strong = boxes[b].querySelector('.m-a-box-bio strong, [itemprop="name"]');
who = ((byline && byline.textContent) || (strong && strong.textContent) || '').trim();
}
if (lk && !who) { continue; } /* name not found: keep the existing description so the link keeps a name */
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}
}/* 9. "Opens in a new tab" for screen-reader users (W3C technique G201) */
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}
}/* 8. Form errors (WCAG 3.3.1): link each error message to its field when it appears */
function linkErrors(root) {
var errs = (root || document).querySelectorAll('.ff-el-group .error, .ff-el-group .text-danger');
for (var e = 0; e < errs.length; e++) {
var grp = errs[e].closest('.ff-el-group');
var field = grp ? grp.querySelector('input:not([type=hidden]), select, textarea') : null;
if (!field) { continue; }
if (!errs[e].id) { errs[e].id = 'aj-err-' + Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 9); }
var ids = (field.getAttribute('aria-describedby') || '').split(' ').filter(Boolean);
if (ids.indexOf(errs[e].id) === -1) { ids.push(errs[e].id); field.setAttribute('aria-describedby', ids.join(' ')); }
}
}
function watchForms() {
var forms = document.querySelectorAll('form.frm-fluent-form');
if (!window.MutationObserver) { return; }
for (var f = 0; f < forms.length; f++) {
new MutationObserver(function () { linkErrors(); }).observe(forms[f], { childList: true, subtree: true });
}
}function start() { run(); watchForms(); }
if (document.readyState === 'loading') { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', start); } else { start(); }
})();
/* Aljaweea newsletter form (form 10): on Arabic pages, pre-select the Arabic edition.
2 Nov 2026 (Claude, runbook 8.82). Decision D-05 asks for the page language to be pre-selected through
the WPML translation of the field's default value; WPML does not offer that value for translation,
so this is the flagged fallback. The stored values stay "English" / "العربية" for the FluentCRM tag routing.
Rollback: set this snippet to Draft (the Arabic page then pre-selects English). */
(function () {
function run() {
if (!/^ar/i.test(document.documentElement.lang || '')) { return; }
var radios = document.querySelectorAll('form.fluent_form_10 input[type="radio"][name="dropdown"]');
for (var i = 0; i < radios.length; i++) {
if (radios[i].value === 'العربية') { radios[i].checked = true; radios[i].dispatchEvent(new Event('change', { bubbles: true })); }
}
}
/* Runs whether or not the page has finished loading (Breeze may delay scripts). */
if (document.readyState === 'loading') { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', run); } else { run(); }
})();
/* Aljaweea forms: let Fluent Forms show its own error messages.
2 Nov 2026 (Claude, runbook 8.86; finding V-1 of the 8.85 test). Without this, the browser's own email check
stops the form when an address has no "@" and shows the browser's pop-up in the browser's language (English on
Arabic pages for most visitors), so our message from the forms standard (1.4) never appears.
"novalidate" switches off only the browser's own check: Fluent Forms still checks every field in the browser
and again on the server, so a badly formed address is still refused - now with our wording, in the page language.
Rollback: set this snippet to Draft. */
(function () {
function run() {
var forms = document.querySelectorAll('form.frm-fluent-form');
for (var i = 0; i < forms.length; i++) { forms[i].setAttribute('novalidate', 'novalidate'); }
}
/* Runs whether or not the page has finished loading (Breeze may delay scripts). */
if (document.readyState === 'loading') { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', run); } else { run(); }
})();
ai_front = {"insertion_before":"BEFORE","insertion_after":"AFTER","insertion_prepend":"PREPEND CONTENT","insertion_append":"APPEND CONTENT","insertion_replace_content":"REPLACE CONTENT","insertion_replace_element":"REPLACE ELEMENT","visible":"VISIBLE","hidden":"HIDDEN","fallback":"FALLBACK","automatically_placed":"Automatically placed by AdSense Auto ads code","cancel":"Cancel","use":"Use","add":"Add","parent":"Parent","cancel_element_selection":"Cancel element selection","select_parent_element":"Select parent element","css_selector":"CSS selector","use_current_selector":"Use current selector","element":"ELEMENT","path":"PATH","selector":"SELECTOR"};
