SkyAccess Middle East Empty Leg Index: November 2026

Dubai to Riyadh leads the November 2026 SkyAccess Middle East Empty Leg Index with 271 listed empty legs, followed by Dubai to Doha with 222. Across the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, the marketplace recorded 4,426 unique empty legs in the snapshot. These are listed empty legs, not flights confirmed as operated.

Method and window: Each unique leg is counted once, both directions are combined for corridors, and deleted, cancelled and internal only listings are excluded. The window covers departures in the 365 days before 29 October 2026 plus future listings already created by the snapshot time, 29 October 2026 at 06:05 UTC. Dubai combines Dubai International and Al Maktoum. Al Minhad is excluded from the Dubai city figure and remains in the UAE and GCC totals.

The GCC at a glance

Measure	Unique empty legs
Legs touching an airport in the six GCC states	4,426
Legs connecting two GCC airports	1,475
Legs touching the United Arab Emirates	2,944
Legs touching Saudi Arabia	1,376
Legs touching Qatar	819
Legs touching Oman	288
Legs touching Kuwait	259
Legs touching Bahrain	150

Country counts can overlap when a leg connects two GCC countries. The six country rows therefore do not add up to the GCC total. Dubai, combining DXB and DWC, accounts for 2,479 listed legs.

The busiest corridors touching the GCC

City pairs combine both directions. Dubai includes DXB and DWC, Abu Dhabi includes AUH and AZI, Doha includes DOH and DIA, and London includes its eight London airports.

Rank	Corridor	Unique empty legs
1	Dubai to Riyadh	271
2	Dubai to Doha	222
3	Dubai to London	122
4	Dubai to Jeddah	119
5	Dubai to Kuwait City	105
6	Dubai to Cairo	77
7	Dubai to Paris	72
8	Dubai to Manama	64
9	Abu Dhabi to Doha	57
10	Abu Dhabi to Riyadh	51

Browse current departures on the Dubai empty leg flights page, or compare this regional view with the global Empty Leg Index.

Methodology

The GCC includes airports in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. A leg is included when either endpoint is in one of those countries. The wider Middle East query uses those countries plus Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Turkey; it returned 7,698 unique legs. Every count is based on marketplace listings, with a fixed creation time so that the snapshot can be reproduced. These figures describe listed legs, not flights confirmed as flown. Each regional edition uses its own snapshot date, so a shared corridor can differ from another edition.

Frequently asked questions

What is the busiest empty leg corridor in the Middle East?

Dubai to Riyadh leads the GCC corridor table with 271 unique listed legs, followed by Dubai to Doha with 222. Both directions are combined.

How many empty legs touch the GCC?

The November 2026 snapshot counts 4,426 unique empty legs touching an airport in the six GCC states. Of these, 1,475 connect two GCC airports.

Which GCC country has the most listed empty legs?

The United Arab Emirates leads with 2,944 legs touching a UAE airport. Saudi Arabia follows with 1,376, then Qatar with 819. A cross border leg can be counted in two country rows.

How many empty legs involve Dubai?

Dubai, defined as Dubai International and Al Maktoum, accounts for 2,479 unique listed legs. Al Minhad is not included in the Dubai figure.

How are the corridor counts calculated?

Each distinct origin, destination, departure time, aircraft registration and aircraft model combination is counted once. The corridor table combines directions and excludes deleted, cancelled and internal only listings.

How much lower can an empty leg price be than a full charter?

SkyAccess empty legs are typically priced 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter. Actual availability and savings vary by route, aircraft and timing.

How to cite this index

Suggested citation: SkyAccess Middle East Empty Leg Index, November 2026 edition. SkyAccess. https://skyaccess.com/blog/middle-east-empty-leg-index-november-2026

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