Infrastructure and airspace development
As the region's governments have increasingly come to view air transportation as integral to economic development and diversification, investment in airport facilities has followed. Although much of this activity focuses on the region's main hubs, smaller airports are significantly upgrading, from building new terminals to expanding into international airports. Significant projects are scheduled or are under way at airports in Manama, Bahrain; Cairo, Egypt; Tehran, Iran; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Muscat and Salalah, Oman; Doha, Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Despite progress and growth in the region, challenges remain. Large sections of airspace remain under military control, reducing the airspace available for commercial traffic. Meanwhile, the region's air traffic control (ATC) systems are not centralized, leaving operators to contend with a patchwork of rules, agencies, and processes. Regional authorities are working to address these needs, and recent discussions of ATC coordination between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and their neighbors show signs of progress