More than four in 10 Middle East travelers 43 percent have been deterred from visiting a place because of immigration and visa procedures, the same as the global average, the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2026 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) has found.
The global aviation organization said cost is cited more often in the Middle East than elsewhere as a reason for being deterred, although complexity remains the biggest concern. Some 91 per cent of Middle East travellers are keen to use a digital passport for online check-in, the most of any area and compared with 84 per cent overall. A further 84 per cent would exchange biometric data for airport operations compared to 78 per cent globally and 72 per cent had used AI to plan their journey, compared to 49 per cent globally.
Overall satisfaction with air travel in the Middle East is 90 per cent, two points up on 2025 and tied with Asia-Pacific as the highest of any area. IATA also noted that biometric users in the Middle East are the most satisfied among the regions.
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