Middle East will be one of world’s fastest-growing aviation markets in the next decade

Middle East will be one of world’s fastest-growing aviation markets in the next decade

- After three years of trying to recover to its size before COVID-19, the global commercial aviation fleet will expand to well over 36,000 aircraft by 2033

- The Middle East fleet will increase its share of the global fleet over the next decade, in part by bolstering its fleet of narrowbodies

Dubai – Despite a sluggish international travel market, the pace of recovery in the Middle East aviation market accelerated throughout 2022 and is expected to take off over the next 10 years with the region’s share of the global fleet set to expand. That is the finding of the Global Fleet and MRO Market Forecast 2023-2033, recently released by Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm and a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC).

The Fleet and MRO Forecast found the global commercial fleet at 98% of where it was in January 2020 (27,400 aircraft at the last count), while global passenger traffic — both domestic and international — is at 82% of its 2019 level. Meanwhile, the global aviation aftermarket — which provides the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) required to keep the fleet flying — is expected to be back at 98% of its 2019 peak by the end