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It should surprise no one to say that South Asia to the Middle East is an enormous market, both for point-to-point and transit passengers. In the week from November 26th to December 2nd, there are 3,155 nonstop departing flights (between 440 and 466 daily) and over 687,000 seats for sale, according to the latest OAG data.
South Asia-Middle East: a summary
Seven countries in South Asia have nonstop flights to the Middle East in the examined week period. It is, of course, considerably about India (1,840 flights), followed by Pakistan (702), Bangladesh (285), Nepal (108), Sri Lanka (98), the Maldives (89), and Afghanistan (33).
When compared to the equivalent week in 2019, three have more flights than they did: the Maldives (+39%), Bangladesh (+38%), and Pakistan (+2%). The Maldives has benefited from the arrival of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Kuwait Airways (October 2022), the expansion of flydubai, and more. Looking ahead, flydubai will begin Dubai-Gan, its second Maldives route, in February.
Some 11 Middle East countries have nonstop South Asia flights. With more than half (1,663), the UAE is obviously fundamental, trailed by Saudi Arabia (463), Qatar (342), Oman (271), Kuwait (214), and Bahrain (159). Then there's Iraq (22 flights), Iran (15), Israel (3), Yemen (2), and Syria (1). The two Yemen flights are by Yemenia between Aden and Mumbai, while to Syria, Pakistan International operates Karachi-Damascus weekly.
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The top 10 airlines
Some 37 airlines have nonstop flights this week. They include Fits Air, the Sri Lankan carrier new to scheduled operations. As for the top ten operators, the results depend on how it is measured. By the number of flights, IndiGo is number one, operating nearly one in every ten South Asia-Middle East services. (By seats and available seat kilometers, Emirates is very firmly first.)
|
Airline |
Nonstop South Asia-Middle East flights: Nov. 26th-Dec. 2nd |
% of the total flights |
Nonstop routes this week (the carrier's route with the most flights) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
IndiGo |
347 |
11.0% |
45 (Mumbai-Dubai) |
|
Emirates |
278 |
8.8% |
17 (Dubai-Mumbai) |
|
Air India Express |
277 |
8.8% |
67 (joint top: Kozhikode/Mangaluru-Dubai) |
|
Air Arabia |
240 |
7.6% |
27 (Sharjah-Dhaka) |
|
Pakistan International |
195 |
6.2% |
60 (Islamabad-Abu Dhabi) |
|
Qatar Airways |
189 |
6.0% |
19 (Doha-Lahore) |
|
Air India |
187 |
5.9% |
26 (Delhi-Dubai) |
|
flydubai |
185 |
5.8% |
19 (joint top: Dubai-Karachi/Kathmandu) |
|
Gulf Air |
133 |
4.2% |
17 (Bahrain-Delhi) |
|
Saudia |
127 |
4.0% |
23 (Jeddah-Dhaka) |
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The top 10 routes
OAG shows that there are 284 nonstop South Asia-Middle East routes this week. It shouldn't be surprising that Mumbai-Dubai, some 1,198 miles (1,928km) apart, has more flights than any other. It is one of seven routes in the top ten to involve India and one in nine to involve the UAE. Notice Male-Dubai. It has risen from 13th in the comparable week in 2019 to fifth, as flights have grown by 75% (!).
|
Routing |
Flights: Nov. 26th-Dec. 2nd |
Airlines |
Find flights |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mumbai-Dubai |
106 (max 16 daily) |
Emirates, IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, Vistara, flydubai |
|
|
Delhi-Dubai |
88 (max 13 daily) |
Emirates, Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India Express, flydubai |
|
|
Karachi-Dubai |
57 (max 9 daily) |
flydubai, Emirates, Pakistan International, airblue |
|
|
Mumbai-Abu Dhabi |
49 (max 7 daily) |
Etihad, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Air India, Go First, IndiGo, Vistara |
|
|
Male-Dubai |
49 (7 daily) |
Emirates, flydubai |
|
|
Dhaka-Dubai |
48 (max 8 daily) |
Emirates, flydubai, US-Bangla, Biman Bangladesh |
|
|
Kochi-Dubai |
45 (max 7 daily) |
Emirates, Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, SpiceJet, flydubai |
|
|
Mumbai-Doha |
38 (max 6 daily) |
IndiGo, Air India, Qatar Airways, Air India Express |
|
|
Chennai-Dubai |
38 (max 6 daily) |
Emirates, Air India, IndiGo, flydubai |
|
|
Hyderabad-Dubai |
38 (max 6 daily) |
Emirates, Air India, IndiGo, flydubai |
Will you be flying between South Asia and the Middle East this week? If so, let us know where you're going by commenting.