The Middle East continues powerfully on thanks to the Gulf carriers, despite some setbacks

The Gulf carriers continued to go from strength to strength in 2011; Etihad made its first (narrow) profit and Emirates again returned the strongest result of any airline globally, even though it was substantially affected by increased fuel prices.

The three major sixth freedom hubs in the Middle East - Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai - added 7.7 million passengers between them in 2011, continuing strong growth, despite the regional disruptions. Much of this is testament to the strength of the home carriers, the industry-aligned development policies pursued at each airport and the vision of local governments to transform their cities into major aviation centres. (The contrast with European governments is extreme, as they meanwhile continue to see the sector as a taxation target, to the great detriment of the industry there.)