Data from OAG, the international specialist in airline data, shows that UAE national carriers continued to enhance their operational capabilities, scheduling over 7.14 million seats for January 2026. The report indicated that Emirates scheduled approximately 3.39 million seats on its flights in January 2026, compared to about 3.22 million in the same month of 2025, achieving a growth of nearly 5%. Meanwhile, Etihad offered around 1.41 million seats in January 2026, compared to 1.13 million in January 2025. FlyDubai increased its capacity to about 1.39 million seats in January 2026, compared to 1.2 million in January 2025, marking a 12.7% growth. Air Arabia scheduled more than 954,000 seats in January 2026, compared to 812,000 in January 2025. The total scheduled seat capacity on flights departing from the country's airports by all airlines reached 8.3 million seats (16.6 million in both directions) in January 2026, compared to 7.77 million in the same period of 2025, representing a growth of 6.8%. According to the data, the UAE aviation market continues to record strong and consistent performance compared to previous years amid strong travel demand. The report noted that the UAE maintained its leadership in the Middle East's air transport market in January 2026. The country's airports accounted for about 20% of the total seat capacity in the region, which exceeded 40 million seats on international departures. Airlines operating in the UAE's airports added more than 500,000 seats in January 2026 compared to the same month in 2025. At the airport level, the data revealed that Dubai International Airport retained its position as the largest airport in the region in terms of seat capacity on departing flights in January 2026, with about 5.5 million seats (11 million in both directions). Doha Airport came in second with 2.6 million seats, followed by Jeddah Airport with 2.39 million, and Riyadh Airport with 2.3 million. Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport ranked fifth with approximately 1.7 million seats.
