Air traffic growth: KSA leads the way

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have emerged as the leading countries in the Middle East in terms of air traffic volume while Qatar demonstrated the strongest growth. The three countries together represented over 53 percent or 52.8 million of the total 99 million passengers whose point of departure originated from the Middle East in 2012, according to Amadeus, a leading technology partner to the global travel industry.
Data indicates that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar enjoyed an average growth rate of 10 percent in air traffic volume in 2012 compared to the previous year, thus outpacing by a large margin the 2 percent growth experienced in the Middle East as a whole.
The analysis, released at a press conference at the ongoing Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2013) yesterday, forms part of a wider insight that identifies the world’s most competitive air travel markets and global air travel trends followed on an annual basis. Obtained via the Amadeus Air Traffic Travel Intelligence solution, the findings are based on the calculation of the most accurate air passenger volume for any Origin and Destination (O&D) worldwide.
Saudi Arabia remains the largest air travel market in the region. The 25 million passengers who started their journey from the country accounted for 25 percent of the total passenger traffic in the Middle East in 2012.
The UAE followed a close second, commanding 23 percent of the regional market share and serving as the point of origin for 23.1 million passengers.
Representing 5 percent of the region's air traffic market with 4.74 million travelers, Qatar led the way in terms of passenger volume growth.
Addressing the press conference, Antoine Medawar, vice president, Middle East and North Africa, Amadeus, underlined the relevance of reliable data to the growth of the airline industry: "These findings, based on data directly sourced from the Amadeus Air Traffic Travel Intelligence solution, provide a precise snapshot of trends in air-traffic volume in the Middle East — a market that is rapidly evolving."
More air passengers began their intercontinental journey in the UAE (15.7 million passengers flown) in 2012 than they did combined in Saudi Arabia (7.8 million passengers flown) and in Qatar (2.8 million passengers flown). The UAE also has the highest ratio of intercontinental travelers (68 percent) versus passengers travelling within the country and departing from there to other destinations within the region (32 percent). Qatar has the second highest ratio (59 percent of intercontinental passengers). For the UAE, the analysis also highlights Dubai-London as the top route.
The intercontinental travelers for Saudi Arabia account only for 31 percent, as the market topped the list of all Middle Eastern countries in terms of total domestic travelers — 11.1 million passengers flown, representing 44 percent of passenger volume. Riyadh-Jeddah appeared as the busiest route in Saudi Arabia.
In terms of regional traffic, the UAE was the most used point of origin for the 7.2 million travelers who flew within the region, followed by Saudi Arabia, which served as the point of origin for 6.1 million travelers within the region.
Elaborating on the reason behind such travel data, Antoine Medawar, said: "Major factors that feed the demand on certain intercontinental routes - particularly those that connect the GCC to Europe and South Asia — include the growing macro economic significance of the region. This includes the large number of expatriates who reside in the GCC, and who need to visit their home countries regularly. The growing domestic routes in Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, are not only supported by the country’s vast geographical size, but also by the thousands of pilgrims who journey within the country."
The overall market share of the Middle East’s low-cost carriers (LCCs) inched up from 11.7 percent in 2011 to 13.5 percent in 2012, a low figure compared to other regions such as Europe, South Asia or North America regions. According to the data, these airlines are making the largest impact in the UAE market, with LCCs commanding 23 percent of the share of traffic in 2012. Low cost carriers had an 8 percent share of traffic in the Qatari air travel market and 9 percent in the Saudi market.
"Budget airlines in the region are in a strong position to capture a larger share of traffic, as the ticket price is the universal factor that influences a passenger decision to fly a particular airline — the convenience of schedule and quality of service also being passenger priorities. In the GCC, budget airlines will face greater challenges on account of their non-budget counterparts, given the greater spending power an average person enjoys, and the sense of pride and loyalty that GCC passengers usually attach to favorite, non-budget airlines," Medawar said.
In terms of connecting air traffic, the Middle East showed strong performance with the three key airports of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi experiencing high connecting traffic volumes of around 50 percent and growing at 10 percent per annum, while other major airports in the region (Jeddah, Riyadh or Cairo) showed connection rates of around 10 percent. This growth echoes the findings of the Amadeus report securing the prize for the Middle East, which examined the factors enabling the region to underpin the next wave of globalization created by emerging economies seeking to become one of the world’s dominant global travel hubs.