The ten leading Middle East airports are investing US$23.5 billion in new airport capacity by 2012 that will provide capacity for 318 million passengers per annum, up 292% on current levels, and taking total annual airport capacity to 399 million. However, this expansion is occurring in areas of close proximity, which increases the risks of overlapping catchment areas and cannibalisation of demand. On the other hand, the planned capacity of the region will likely fall short of traffic growth, even if it meets its expected average growth rate of 7% per annum.

IATA forecasts average annual passenger traffic growth between the Middle East and Europe and Asia Pacific to rise by 6.6% and 6.7%, respectively, from 2005-09. Financing airport development for this level of demand and to support the massive supply-led airline growth in many countries and states in the region still comes largely from governments, and from bank debt. Increasingly, Islamic financing techniques, such as the Sukuk, are employed and such tools are being integrated with western ones into hybrid mechanisms that satisfy all investor parties. Nevertheless, there has been a greater emphasis placed on external and non-Islamic private funding and/or development since the first Global Airport Privatisation report was published.