Routes World 2026: MENA Aviation Shows Resilience at Frankfurt Event

From 21-23 October 2026, over 230 airlines met at Messe Frankfurt for Routes World 2026, facilitating over 11,000 meetings. This followed its intelligence precursor, the IATA AirportIS Forum on 20 October at the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel. Both were originally scheduled to be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the events were moved to Germany due to regional tensions.

Gulf Aviation Overcomes Regional Tensions

The UAE delegation included 15 organisations, including airlines, airport groups, and aviation software providers.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates, addressed regional risk in his keynote speech. Despite a 14.2% drop in regional demand cited by IATA, Clark stated that Emirates is operating at about 91% of its pre-war capacity. He added that revenues the week before Routes World exceeded those from the same period in 2025, the airline’s most profitable year.

Despite the venue change, the Saudi Air Connectivity Program held over 65 meetings to secure routes for Red Sea International Airport in 2027. The delegation included GACA, ACP, Saudia, Saudia Cargo, and Riyadh Air.

Building on its history of hosting in 2024, Bahrain used the event to announce plans to expand its Boeing 787 fleet.

Kuwait sent both Kuwait Airways and low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways to explore new European and Asian white-spot routes.

Qatar Airways and its cargo division focused on protecting cargo operations and reallocating capacity after regional flight reductions.

Oman’s SalamAir targeted price-sensitive ‘Visiting Friends and Relatives’ and point-to-point segments. 

Jordan and Morocco Target European Networks

The broader MENA aviation sector also showed strong coordination:

Royal Jordanian Airlines partnered with Jordan’s tourism board to present a unified business case to international airlines.

Morocco sent a team representing Royal Air Maroc, Royal Air Maroc Express, and the airport authority ONDA to negotiate new routes directly with European airlines.

Syria and Iraq Enter the Market

New entrants Fly Cham (Syria) and Basra Airlines (Iraq) were both scheduled to attend to build initial networks, though neither has reported commercial outcomes yet.

Overall, MENA network planners demonstrated resilience and focus despite market volatility, remaining highly proactive and data-driven in securing sustainable global aviation dominance.

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