Middle East Empty Leg Index: October 2026

Dubai to Riyadh is the busiest private jet empty leg corridor in the Middle East, with 349 unique empty legs listed on SkyAccess, ahead of Dubai to Doha (253) and Dubai to Kuwait City (151). Across the six GCC states, SkyAccess listed 4,873 empty leg flights; 1,748 of them (35.9%) connected two GCC airports, 3,297 involved a UAE airport, and Dubai alone (DXB and Al Maktoum DWC) accounted for 2,762.

Method: each leg is counted once, both directions of a route are combined, and the figures are empty legs listed on the SkyAccess marketplace, not flown flights. Window: departures from 2 October 2025 to 2 October 2026 plus currently listed future flights, snapshot taken 2 October 2026.

The GCC at a glance

Measure	Unique empty legs
Legs touching any GCC airport	4,873
Within the GCC (both ends in a GCC state)	1,748 (35.9%)
Touching a UAE airport	3,297
Touching Dubai (DXB and DWC)	2,762

Empty legs by GCC country

Legs touching each country. A cross-border leg counts in both countries, so the column adds up to more than the GCC total.

Country	Unique empty legs	Share of GCC total
United Arab Emirates	3,297	67.7%
Saudi Arabia	1,603	32.9%
Qatar	916	18.8%
Kuwait	310	6.4%
Oman	287	5.9%
Bahrain	149	3.1%

The 10 busiest corridors touching the GCC

City pairs, both directions combined.

Rank	Corridor	Airports	Unique empty legs
1	Dubai to Riyadh	DXB, DWC / RUH	349
2	Dubai to Doha	DXB, DWC / DOH, DIA	253
3	Dubai to Kuwait City	DXB, DWC / KWI	151
4	Dubai to Jeddah	DXB, DWC / JED	139
5	Dubai to London	DXB, DWC / London airports	137
6	Dubai to Cairo	DXB, DWC / CAI	87
7	Dubai to Paris	DXB, DWC / LBG, CDG	84
8	Abu Dhabi to Riyadh	AUH, AZI / RUH	73
9	Doha to Riyadh	DOH, DIA / RUH	71
10	Abu Dhabi to Doha	AUH, AZI / DOH, DIA	65

Dubai: Al Maktoum carries the business aviation traffic

Dubai (DXB plus Al Maktoum DWC) accounts for 2,762 of the 4,873 GCC empty legs. 2,509 touched Al Maktoum and 254 touched Dubai International. Its leading partners are Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, Jeddah and London. Browse current departures on the Dubai empty leg flights page.

Methodology

GCC means airports in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; a leg is a GCC leg if either end is a GCC airport. Dubai combines Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum (DWC); Abu Dhabi combines AUH and Al Bateen (AZI); Doha combines DOH and DIA; London covers Luton, Farnborough, Biggin Hill, Stansted, Northolt, City, Heathrow and Gatwick. Each unique leg is counted once across operator feeds, deleted, cancelled and never-public listings are excluded, and the counts are listed empty legs, not flown flights. The global Empty Leg Index (September 2026 edition) showed 355 for Dubai to Riyadh; this edition reads 349 because the 12-month window has moved forward and two listings that were never public are left out. Each regional edition uses its own snapshot date, so a corridor shared with another edition can differ by a few legs. The latest global ranking is the October 2026 Empty Leg Index.

Frequently asked questions

What is the busiest private jet route in the Middle East?

Dubai to Riyadh. SkyAccess listed 349 unique empty leg flights between Dubai (DXB and Al Maktoum DWC) and Riyadh (RUH), both directions combined, in the window from 2 October 2025 to 2 October 2026 plus currently listed future flights. Dubai to Doha (253) and Dubai to Kuwait City (151) are second and third.

How many private jet empty legs are there in the GCC?

SkyAccess listed 4,873 unique empty leg flights touching an airport in the six GCC states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain). 1,748 of them (35.9%) connected two GCC airports; the rest linked the Gulf with Europe, Africa and Asia.

Which Dubai airport handles the most empty legs?

Al Maktoum International (DWC). Of the 2,762 Dubai empty legs, 2,509 touched DWC and 254 touched Dubai International (DXB); one hop between the two airports counts at both. Business aviation in Dubai is overwhelmingly at Al Maktoum.

Which GCC country has the most empty leg flights?

The UAE, with 3,297 empty legs touching a UAE airport, followed by Saudi Arabia (1,603), Qatar (916), Kuwait (310), Oman (287) and Bahrain (149). A leg between two countries counts in both, so the country figures add up to more than the GCC total.

How much cheaper is a Middle East empty leg than a full charter?

Empty legs on SkyAccess are typically priced 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter on the same route. The price is for the whole aircraft, and the saving depends on aircraft category, corridor and how close to departure the leg is booked.

How is the Middle East Empty Leg Index counted?

Each unique leg is counted once, even when the same flight appears in several operator feeds, and both directions of a route are combined. The figures are empty legs listed on the SkyAccess marketplace, not confirmed flown flights. Deleted, cancelled and never-public listings are excluded.

How to cite this index

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

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