{
  "name": "SkyAccess Middle East Empty Leg Index: October 2026",
  "description": "Dubai to Riyadh leads with 349 empty legs. GCC private jet empty leg data by country, corridor and Dubai airport from SkyAccess listings, October 2026. Tables: The GCC at a glance; Empty legs by GCC country; The 10 busiest corridors touching the GCC.",
  "url": "https://skyaccess.com/blog/middle-east-empty-leg-index-october-2026",
  "creator": {
    "name": "SkyAccess",
    "url": "https://skyaccess.com"
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-10-02T15:21:38",
  "dateModified": "2026-10-17T00:57:16",
  "citation": "SkyAccess. (2026). Middle East Empty Leg Index: October 2026. Retrieved from https://skyaccess.com/blog/middle-east-empty-leg-index-october-2026",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "temporalCoverage": "2025-10-02/2026-10-02",
  "distribution": {
    "json": "https://skyaccess.com/data/middle-east-empty-leg-index-october-2026.json",
    "csv": "https://skyaccess.com/data/middle-east-empty-leg-index-october-2026.csv"
  },
  "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.",
  "tables": [
    {
      "title": "The GCC at a glance",
      "columns": [
        "Measure",
        "Unique empty legs"
      ],
      "rows": [
        {
          "Measure": "Legs touching any GCC airport",
          "Unique empty legs": 4873
        },
        {
          "Measure": "Within the GCC (both ends in a GCC state)",
          "Unique empty legs": "1,748 (35.9%)"
        },
        {
          "Measure": "Touching a UAE airport",
          "Unique empty legs": 3297
        },
        {
          "Measure": "Touching Dubai (DXB and DWC)",
          "Unique empty legs": 2762
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Empty legs by GCC country",
      "columns": [
        "Country",
        "Unique empty legs",
        "Share of GCC total"
      ],
      "rows": [
        {
          "Country": "United Arab Emirates",
          "Unique empty legs": 3297,
          "Share of GCC total": "67.7%"
        },
        {
          "Country": "Saudi Arabia",
          "Unique empty legs": 1603,
          "Share of GCC total": "32.9%"
        },
        {
          "Country": "Qatar",
          "Unique empty legs": 916,
          "Share of GCC total": "18.8%"
        },
        {
          "Country": "Kuwait",
          "Unique empty legs": 310,
          "Share of GCC total": "6.4%"
        },
        {
          "Country": "Oman",
          "Unique empty legs": 287,
          "Share of GCC total": "5.9%"
        },
        {
          "Country": "Bahrain",
          "Unique empty legs": 149,
          "Share of GCC total": "3.1%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "The 10 busiest corridors touching the GCC",
      "columns": [
        "Rank",
        "Corridor",
        "Airports",
        "Unique empty legs"
      ],
      "rows": [
        {
          "Rank": 1,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to Riyadh",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / RUH",
          "Unique empty legs": 349
        },
        {
          "Rank": 2,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to Doha",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / DOH, DIA",
          "Unique empty legs": 253
        },
        {
          "Rank": 3,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to Kuwait City",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / KWI",
          "Unique empty legs": 151
        },
        {
          "Rank": 4,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to Jeddah",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / JED",
          "Unique empty legs": 139
        },
        {
          "Rank": 5,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to London",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / London airports",
          "Unique empty legs": 137
        },
        {
          "Rank": 6,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to Cairo",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / CAI",
          "Unique empty legs": 87
        },
        {
          "Rank": 7,
          "Corridor": "Dubai to Paris",
          "Airports": "DXB, DWC / LBG, CDG",
          "Unique empty legs": 84
        },
        {
          "Rank": 8,
          "Corridor": "Abu Dhabi to Riyadh",
          "Airports": "AUH, AZI / RUH",
          "Unique empty legs": 73
        },
        {
          "Rank": 9,
          "Corridor": "Doha to Riyadh",
          "Airports": "DOH, DIA / RUH",
          "Unique empty legs": 71
        },
        {
          "Rank": 10,
          "Corridor": "Abu Dhabi to Doha",
          "Airports": "AUH, AZI / DOH, DIA",
          "Unique empty legs": 65
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}