A new Dammam budget carrier, a bigger King Fahd airport

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

TODAY: A new budget airline is coming to Dammam + XRG completes Southern Gas Corridor stake acquisition

Good morning, wonderful people — everyone's expanding this morning, in one way or another.

Dammam's getting both a new airline and a bigger airport to go with it. Saudi's GACA awarded an Air Operator Certificate to an Air Arabia-led consortium — with Nesma Group and KUN Holding — to launch a new national low-cost carrier based at King Fahd International Airport. The airport itself isn't standing still either: Dammam Airports signed a design contract with WSP to develop King Fahd under its approved master plan.

XRG, meanwhile, just closed a quieter but no less strategic agreement. Adnoc's global investment arm completed its acquisition of a stake in Azerbaijan's Southern Gas Corridor. The company didn’t disclose the size or value of the stake.

And Etihad is flying straight into the recovery rather than waiting for it. The Abu Dhabi carrier is running 15% more capacity than last year despite the disruption and rising costs around it, Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer Arik De told EnterpriseAM on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market — well above the 10% growth it had flagged back in June, with load factors sitting at around 90%.

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is less than a month away — and here's some of what’s shaping up on the agenda:

Where AI fits on the list of topics keeping CEOs awake at night
What AI means for your company, your team, your job, and your family
What's the AI opportunity for Egypt
Building the AI infrastructure

And more panels to come.

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Attendance is by invitation only, and seats are filling up quickly.

Request your invitation here.

Emirates lands Berlin slot

Germany’s government said this week it has granted “a UAE airline” — which Bloomberg says is Emirates — a fifth landing slot in the country, effective immediately. It caps off decades of lobbying against opposition from Deutsche Lufthansa, which said the move “will shift economic value creation and jobs to the Gulf and further exacerbate the distortion of competition.”

The new flights are capped at seven a week, and Emirates won’t get so-called fifth-freedom rights that would let it use Berlin as a stopover en route to destinations like New York. Emirates currently flies to Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg. The timing lines up with a bigger UAE-Germany push: the UAE announced this week it plans to invest EUR 40 bn (USD 46.5 bn) in Europe's largest economy.

Another rail link comeback

Syria + Lebanon are reviving another cross-border rail link: Transport officials from both countries agreed to complete technical and economic studies to reconnect their railway networks — including a proposed link from the Port of Tripoli through Akkari station to Syria’s rail network and onward to Homs, Sana reports. The agreement follows a field inspection by a Syrian transport delegation to assess the route and what it would take to rehabilitate and operate it.

The next step is figuring out how to make it happen. The studies will feed into a joint workshop on the project’s feasibility, cost, funding sources and implementation mechanism. Officials also inspected the roughly 35-km Lebanese section between Tripoli and the Syrian border, including the route from the Port of Tripoli toward Abboudieh via the economic zone and Qlayaat Airport.

ICYMI- Lebanon launched a tender in May to study the rehabilitation of the Tripoli-Abboudieh line, which has been out of service since 1975 and runs toward the Syrian border. The government has pitched the corridor of both freight and passenger traffic, linking the Port of Tripoli with northern Lebanon’s wider logistics infrastructure.

CMA CGM gives Beirut more room to cargo

CMA CGM is bankrolling Beirut's next port push: The French shipping group — which has run the Port of Beirut's container terminal since taking over the concession in 2022 — will invest around USD 100 mn in the third and largest expansion of the terminal, port chairman and general manager Marwan Naffi said in an interview with Asharq News (watch, runtime: 00:45). The phased build-out will more than double annual capacity to around 3 mn TEU by 2028, from a current ceiling of 1.2-1.3 mn TEU.

Why it matters: Beirut already handles around 80% of Lebanon's domestic market, Naffi said. The new capacity is aimed almost entirely at transit and transshipment cargo — the regional-hub role the terminal is trying to win back since the blast took it offline. Beirut and Tripoli have also said they want a role in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as Gulf shippers look for options around Hormuz and Bab Al Mandeb disruptions.

Market watch

Oil prices fell this morning on higher US crude stocks, despite supply risks from a Saudi pipeline attack, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures declined USD 0.93 to USD 107.82 / bbl by 00.28 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell USD 0.97 to USD 104.86 / bbl.

The Baltic Index inches lower: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was down 2.5% to 3,360 points on Tuesday. The capesize index declined 3.8% to 5,687 points, while the panamax fell 1.2% to 2,364 points. The smaller supramax rose 0.6% to 1,736 points.

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King Fahd International Airport lined up an airport expansion + new budget carrier

Saudi Arabia is giving Dammam both a new airline and a bigger airport plan. Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) awarded an air operator certificate to an Air Arabia-led consortium — including Nesma Group and KUN Holding — to launch a new national low-cost carrier based at Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport (DMM), according to a press release. Dammam Airports also signed a design contract with WSP to develop King Fahd International Airport under its approved master plan, Spa reports.

REMEMBER- We flagged this back in July 2025 when Saudi Arabia first approved plans for an Air Arabia-led consortium to launch a new low-cost carrier out of Dammam. The airline was announced alongside a broader SAR 1.6 bn Dammam Airports strategy, which includes 77 infrastructure projects and targets more than 19.3 mn annual passengers and 600k tonnes of air cargo capacity at King Fahd by 2030.

Why it matters: The airport is being built to match. King Fahd International Airport’s cargo capacity is set to rise to more than 600k tons a year, alongside an increase in passenger capacity from 13.7 mn in 2025 to more than 19.3 mn by 2030. Later phases could take passenger capacity to 32 mn, while hourly aircraft movements rise to 77. The expansion includes new terminals, an extended runway and general aviation infrastructure, as well as upgraded baggage systems and digital services.

The new carrier could help put that extra capacity to work: Developing the airline alongside the airport gives Dammam an opportunity to shape gates, ground handling and passenger processes around a fast-growing low-cost operation from the outset, rather than retrofit them later, Wouter Dewulf, professor of air transport management and economics at the University of Antwerp, tells EnterpriseAM. But the bigger question is whether the airline can create enough new traffic to fill that capacity: Dewulf says the carrier’s target of 10 mn passengers annually by 2030 is “a very substantial number relative to Dammam’s current market.”

The cargo case is less clear-cut: Dewulf is cautious about the new carrier building a meaningful freight operation. Its narrowbody fleet can carry belly cargo, but passenger baggage will take priority, leaving freight as more of an incremental revenue stream than a strategic business. Dammam is also “not really a major regional cargo hub,” he says, while the Eastern Province is already reasonably well connected for its local cargo needs.

The Air Arabia connection matters: Rather than building a low-cost operation from scratch, the joint venture can draw on Air Arabia’s experience in fleet management, procurement, maintenance, training, revenue management and distribution, Dewulf says. Share purchasing and aircraft sourcing could also help lower unit costs. That should reduce some of the execution risk — but not the commercial risk. The model will still need to be adapted to Saudi Arabia, particularly around workforce, network and airport economics, he adds.

XRG completes Southern Gas Corridor stake acquisition

XRG closes its Southern Gas Corridor investment: Adnoc’s global investment arm XRG has completed its acquisition of an undisclosed equity stake in Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) from the country’s Energy Ministry after securing the required regulatory approvals, according to a press release (pdf). The company didn't disclose the size or value of the stake — though Trend.az and Egypt Oil & Gas reported it at 12.5%.

The stake buys XRG into the main route carrying Azerbaijani gas into Europe. The USD 40 bn project spans a 3.5k km network running through Georgia and Turkey into Southern Europe, with interests covering the Shah Deniz gas field, South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans Anatolian Pipeline, and Trans Adriatic Pipeline. The corridor can carry up to 26 bcm of gas annually.

XRG is building beyond the wellhead. It already holds 30% of Azerbaijan's Absheron gas and condensate field and 38% of Turkmenistan's offshore Block I concession, which produces around 400 mmcf of gas a day and sits on more than 7 tcf of gas resources. SGC gives it the infrastructure to move that production, plus future Caspian supply, into established regional and European markets, not just a claim on what comes out of the ground.

But a seat at the table doesn’t mean control of the corridor. XRG’s minority stake won’t give it unilateral say over gas flows, capacity allocation, or expansion across the whole system, Global Resources Partnership CEO Mehmet Ogutcu tells EnterpriseAM. The strategic value instead lies in giving XRG influence and optionality inside the infrastructure network it will increasingly rely on to move Caspian gas to market.

XRG is landing at the crossroads of four converging gas strategies. “Europe still wants diversified gas supply even as it decarbonises. Azerbaijan wants to monetise additional Caspian resources and strengthen its role as an energy bridge. Turkey wants to consolidate its position as a regional gas hub. The UAE increasingly has capital and energy interests across the wider Caspian-Central Asian space. XRG now sits unusually close to the intersection of all four agendas,” Ogutcu says.

We knew this was coming: XRG signed the acquisition agreement in February, subject at the time to regulatory and antitrust approvals, after reaching a preliminary agreement in November 2025.

Etihad Airways is expanding its fleet and routes while the rest of Gulf aviation pulls back

Etihad is positioning for a rebound in Gulf aviation — and expanding accordingly. Abu Dhabi flag carrier Etihad Airways is flying 15% more than last year despite geopolitical disruption and rising costs, Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer Arik De told EnterpriseAM on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market. The airline is now operating more summer capacity than the 10% y-o-y growth it had flagged in June, with aircraft load factors sitting at about 90%, according to De.

IN CONTEXT- It has been an unforgiving year for Gulf aviation. The Iran war forced airlines across the region to reroute, spiking fuel costs and grounding flights outright. The International Air Transport Association expects Middle Eastern carriers to post a combined loss this year, the only region forecast to be unprofitable in 2026. Emirates and Qatar Airways both pulled back summer capacity in response.

But does restoring flights mean the Gulf aviation machine is fully back to normal? Longer routings and slower aircraft turnarounds were still eating into aircraft productivity even as carriers rebuilt their schedules. That matters for hub carriers like Etihad, where lower frequencies or poorly timed arrivals can weaken entire connection banks even when headline seat capacity has recovered.

Etihad has kept its foot down: The Abu Dhabi carrier added more than 20 aircraft to its fleet this year, pushed ahead with new routes across Europe, Africa, and China, and is now targeting break-even for the full year — a goal first flagged by CEO Antonoaldo Neves earlier this year in an interview with CNBC. It also held rates this year, Neves told The National, with around 320 flights operating a day — a number it plans to increase by 25% by the end of next year to about 400 flights.

There is also some space opening around it: Capacity reductions elsewhere have created windows for Etihad to fill parts of the gap, Garth Lund, aviation consultant tells EnterpriseAM, pointing to smaller schedules from Emirates and Qatar Airways, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s exit, and delays among overseas carriers in restoring Gulf services. Etihad’s ability to move quickly is also helping it capitalize on those openings, he adds, with the airline continuing to announce new routes and capacity additions at a rapid pace.

And the growth story isn’t slowing: The carrier expects to take delivery of 15 new aircraft by December as part of its expansion plans, Neves told Asharq Business. It invests around USD 3.5 bn annually into its fleet and aims to break even in 2026, Neves said.

The carrier is already planning beyond the current rebound: In July, Etihad was reportedly in preliminary talks with Boeing and Airbus to secure aircraft delivery positions as early as 2029 and 2030. That follows a border effort to build around manufacturer bottlenecks — by tapping the secondary market for aircraft, bringing A380s back into service, weighing bulk purchases and locally stockpiling aircraft parts and rolling out a USD 1 bn retrofit program to keep more of its existing fleet flying.

The balance sheet is buying it room to move: The airline’s performance in recent years has left it with a stronger balance sheet and, De says, “good financial position to weather any short-term challenges.” It posted record earnings last year, with income after tax up 47% y-o-y to AED 2.6 bn and total revenue rising 21% to AED 30.7 bn.

That financial cushion matters when the strategy is long term. Etihad’s financial position gives it the ability to keep investing through near-term volatility rather than pulling back every time conditions deteriorate, Lund argues. That helps explain why the airline has continued adding aircraft and routes even as fuel costs, rerouting and regional disruption have put pressure on airline economics across the Gulf.

The disruption hasn’t changed the calculus: That also means none of its expansion plans have changed. “We're not shying away from any investment because we see a very strong vision for demand, not only in the UAE but also in the region,” De explains. “As long as we keep our focus and our head down, I think we'll achieve our goals faster... we tweak things around the edges — when things work better, we double down on it. When things don't work well, we don't have the ego, we just walk away from it,” he adds, referring to the airline’s vision for 2030.

Hapag-Lloyd doubles down on African port capacity

Hapag-Lloyd doubles down on African port capacity: The German carrier is expanding its partnership with DP World to secure long-term terminal capacity in Dakar, Luanda and Dar es Salaam, while supporting new and expanded infrastructure at Banana in the DRC and Maputo in Mozambique, according to a press release. The move comes as Hapag-Lloyd expects African transport volumes to top 1 mn TEU in 2026, prompting the carrier to lock in capacity ahead of the growth.

DP World has already started building out the network: In Dar es Salaam, DP World took over operations under a 30-year concession in 2023, initially committing USD 250 mn to upgrades, with total investment potentially reaching USD 1 bn, and is currently redeveloping seven cargo and handling yards spanning 90k sqm. In DRC, the first phase of Banana port will be able to handle 450k TEU a year, while in Mozambique, DP World is also backing a USD 2 bn expansion of Maputo port that is expected to raise annual container capacity to around 1 mn TEU.

Calendar

16-17 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

22-23 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Breakbulk Americas, Houston, US.

22-24 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Seamless Middle East, Dubai, UAE.

28-30 September (Monday-Wednesday): Transport Logistics Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

OCTOBER

12-14 October (Monday-Wednesday): The Airport Show, Dubai, UAE.

20-22 October (Tuesday-Thursday): TOC Americas, Cartagena, Colombia.

21-22 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Global Ports Forum, Singapore.

26-29 (Monday-Thursday): Air Cargo Forum, Miami, US.

27-29 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes World, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

NOVEMBER

2-5 November (Monday-Thursday): ADIPEC Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

10-11 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): TOC Asia, Singapore.

10-12 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Intermodal Europe, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

11-13 November (Wednesday-Friday): Logitrans, Istanbul, Turkey.

18-19 November (Wednesday-Thursday): Breakbulk Asia, Singapore.

FEBRUARY 2027

10-12 February (Wednesday-Friday): Routes Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

MARCH 2027

16-18 March (Tuesday-Thursday): CMA Shipping, Houston, US.

16-18 March (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes Asia, New Delhi, India.

APRIL 2027

20-22 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes Europe, Antalya, Turkey.

26-29 April (Monday-Thursday): Transport Logistic and air cargo Europe, Munich, Germany.

26-29 April (Monday-Thursday): Saudi Smart Logistics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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