Both Qatar Airways and its hub, Hamad International Airport (DOH), have been taking the limelight in recent weeks. The airline’s wide-body order of up to 210 Boeing jets (130 of which are 787 Dreamliners), announced while Donald Trump was doing his Middle East round of visits, grabbed the headlines, as did the gift of a 747 Jumbo to the U.S. from Qatar’s ruling family.

Qatar Airways has been building its presence in the very competitive Middle East region since it began operating in 1994. Post-pandemic, the market has seen some major developments with significant terminal expansion at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International (AUH) and DOH. In Saudi Arabia too the aviation push has been extensive, back by heavy investment.

All this has helped the sixth largest region in the world based on available capacity—ahead of Eastern Europe and just behind South Asia—to deliver 270 million one-way seats in 2024, as calculated by aviation consultancy OAG.

According to Deirdre Fulton from market intelligence agency, Midas Aviation, the Middle East has experienced “an unparalleled era of growth.” In many cases, state ownership across the full aviation chain, from airports to airlines and everything in between, has made it much easier—and faster—to implement change in a short time; be it launching a new airline like Riyadh Air, innovations in products and services, or new infrastructure.

An Aviation Hot Spot

Fulton said: “In recent years, the Middle East has established a leading position in developing new markets and connections to the rest of the world, with non-stop services to all continents and key cities. The region has a highly competitive environment with best-in-class airlines operating in all segments, alongside ambitious plans for new aircraft and routes. This makes the Middle East a real hot spot in the aviation industry.”

Qatar Airways is one of those best-in-class carriers, and DOH has risen to become the #2 airport in the world in 2025 (according to Skytrax), and #1 last year. Qatar Duty Free, the retail operation at DOH that is 100% owned by Qatar Airways, has also been ranked by Skytrax as having the best airport shopping worldwide for the third year in a row.

The influence of Qatar Airways on the global stage has skyrocketed in the past decade. It has moved from 36^th in the world for seat capacity in 2019 to 19^th in 2024. In terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs), the airline has jumped from 17th to 6th place in the same time frame, largely due to its strong focus on long-haul connecting flights globally.

Since the pandemic, Qatar Airways, the third-largest airline in the Middle East, has grown by 18%, much faster than other legacy carriers in the region. Only low-cost airlines such as flynas and flydubai have outpaced it, and it is possible that it could overtake Saudia for second place in 2026, behind Emirates.

To ensure Qatar Airways has capacity on the ground for its continued growth, DOH has just been expanded with the completion of new concourses D and E, adding to the existing A, B and C concourses. The extra space takes the airport’s capacity up to 65 million passengers.

More to Come?

This is still probably not enough for Qatar Airways’ long-term expansion goals, so further infrastructure development may well be in the offing. DOH has the benefit of being built on reclaimed land that juts out into the Arabian Gulf; therefore, adding more surface area for terminal expansion is relatively easy.

From the outset, Qatar Airways, with more than 170 destinations, has built its strategy around transfer traffic and a high-end offer, which seems to have paid off as its latest results show the highest profitability in its history at USD2.15 billion (QAR7.85 billion), soaring by 28%. 

In the Middle East the airline has the highest share of connecting traffic at 84%, well above Emirates at 66%, and Etihad’s 77%. Extra connections or stepped-up frequencies are now focused on Canada, South America, Africa, and Europe, and further route development will be high on the to-do list. After all, those 130 Dreamliners will have to earn their keep somehow.