According to International Air Transport Association, Middle East passenger traffic will double in the next 20 years, climbing to 530 million passengers by 2043. Global figures will see a similar rise
Emirates, Dubai's state-owned carrier, with its large fleet of long-range, wide-body aircraft, epitomises the Gulf's "hub and spoke" model in which a globe-spanning range of long-haul destinations are linked by connecting flights through Dubai. Image: Photography Karim SAHIB / AFP
With major new airports emerging from the desert and aircraft orders rolling in, the resource-rich Gulf is raising its stake in an industry forecast to boom in the decades ahead.
As the International Air Transport Association's AGM takes place this week in Dubai -- two years after it was held in Qatar -- billions of dollars are being poured into aviation around the wealthy region.
And with good reason: according to the global industry body, Middle East passenger traffic will double in the next 20 years, climbing to 530 million passengers by 2043. Global figures will see a similar rise.