Transportation

People wait for the arrival of relatives at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on the first commercial flight from Qatar on Jan. 11, 2021.

Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid airport sets record with 3.9M passengers in July

Air travel is a part of the Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy, though challenges remain in attracting tourists and catching up to other Gulf airports.

Lufthansa Airbus A 340

Mideast airlines see 0.4% dip amid Iran, Gaza wars, as global demand up 2.6%

Conflict-related airspace closures and regional tensions disrupted airlines based in the Middle East.

A train moves during the inauguration of a 140-kilometer line running from eastern Iran into western Afghanistan, at a railroad station in Khaf, on Dec. 10, 2020.

China steps in to help electrify Iran’s railways: What to know

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref met with members of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce on Monday as ties grow.

Men inspect an electric car at a showroom in Riyadh on June 8, 2024.

Interview

Growing Chinese competition in Mideast car market 'key challenge,' Ford says

Chinese automotive companies are increasing their market share and are projected to capture 34% of the Middle East and Africa market by 2030, according to one analysis.

Ravi Ravichandran

Ravi Ravichandran

President of Ford Middle East and North Africa

Latest News

Turkey secures $2.8B green financing for Azerbaijan railway: What to know

An export train to Russia and China leaves the Ankara station, on Jan. 29, 2021.

Over 10 years after ISIS takeover, Iraq's Mosul Airport reopens: What to know

ZAID AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images

From Lebanon to Qatar, Israel-Iran war disrupts flights, airport traffic: What to know

Ground staff prepare a Middle East Airlines flight for departure on the tarmac at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on May 2, 2025.

Mideast airlines to deliver industry’s highest profit margins in 2025

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

An aircraft of Middle East Airlines (MEA), Lebanon's flag carrier, takes off from Beirut International Airport on Oct. 6, 2024 amidst smoke rising from nearby sites targeted overnight by Israeli air strikes in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

Feature

Flying despite Israeli attacks, Middle East Airlines becomes symbol of pride for Lebanon

As a growing number of airlines cancel and reroute flights in the region to avoid conflict, Lebanon's flagship carrier has provided a sense of stability amid turmoil.

Amberin Zaman

Beatrice Farhat

By Amberin Zaman , Beatrice Farhat

An Airbus A350 plane of Qatar Airways from Doha parks after it landed at Berlin's airport "Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt", during the opening of the southern runway of the airport, in Schoenefeld, southeast of Berlin, on November 4, 2020. - Passenger flights are to began landing on October 31, 2020 at Berlin's new international airport, a moment many Germans thought they might never see after years of embarrassing delays and spiralling costs. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AF

Qatar Airways suspends Iran, Lebanon flights, joining growing list of airlines

Amid conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, few airlines are operating in and out of Tel Aviv, and fewer still in and out of Beirut and Tehran.

Defence Secretary John Healey visits RAF Akrotiri, during a visit to Cyprus to meet troops as the government steps up efforts for a potential evacuation of Lebanon.

US, China, France, others weigh Lebanon evacuation plans for nationals

The situation in Lebanon and the region has quickly deteriorated, prompting several countries to come up with plans to secure the safe evacuation of their nationals from the country.

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft taking off from Beirut's international airport flies amid smoke billowing above the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of overnight Israeli airstrikes, on Sept. 28,2024.

Middle East airlines alter, axe flights following Iran missile attack on Israel

Late on Tuesday, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what it said was in retaliation for last Friday’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah.

Uber, China's WeRide to launch self-driving robotaxis in UAE

WeRide already operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the UAE, where residents can access its robotaxi services through the TXAI app.

United Arab Emirates

Boeing

Analysis

Turbulent skies: How Israel-Iran tension is disrupting global aviation

Military action — and even the mere anticipation of conflict — often trigger widespread disruptions in airspace management, affecting commercial and cargo flights across the globe.

Mehran Haghirian

By Mehran Haghirian

The low-emission container ship Antonia Maersk by Danish shipping company A.P. Moller - Maersk is seen behind containers during its christening at the harbor of Aarhus, Denmark, on August 9, 2024. The ship sails on green methanol. (Photo by Mikkel Berg Pedersen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT (Photo by MIKKEL BERG PEDERSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

What Maersk's $250M logistics park means for Saudi Arabia

Danish logistics company remains invested in the Red Sea despite continued threats to shipping from Yemen's Houthi militants.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Passengers look at the flight board at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Aug. 6, 2024.

Travelers scramble as airlines cut flights amid fear of Iran-Israel war

Germany's Lufthansa extended a suspension of services to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Erbil to Aug. 13.

A flydubai Boeing 737 Max taxis at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, on Nov. 22, 2023.

UAE's Flydubai says Boeing delays hurt airline’s expansion plans

The Virginia-based plane-maker has been beset by plane delivery delays since its best-selling narrow-body aircraft, the 737 MAX, was flagged for safety concerns and experienced technical problems and additional quality control processes.

United Arab Emirates

Media image of a Lilium eVTOL jet, download July 18, 2024.

Saudia inks deal for electric flying taxis from Germany amid airline order spree

The agreement to purchase 50 jets, with an option for 50 more, was made with Lilium, headquartered outside Munich.

Reporters gather near a Qatar Airways cargo airplane on the tarmac of Hamad International Airport, as the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia in three and a half years following a Gulf diplomatic thaw prepares for take-off, Doha, Qatar, Jan. 11, 2021.

Qatar Airways sees annual profit climb by 39% to record $1.67B

The Doha-based airline carried more than 40 million passengers over the 2023/2024 financial year, 26% more than over the previous year.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures before his speech as he holds a letter by President Droupadi Murmu (not pictured) requesting him to form the country's new government, at the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 7, 2024.

Analysis

Can Modi fast-track India-Mideast-Europe corridor post-reelection?

Ramping up initial phase of the corridor between India and the United Arab Emirates tops the agenda in New Delhi.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran