Saudi Arabia reports strongest passenger growth in a decade as market prepares to expand

After several years of sagging performance, Saudi Arabia's aviation market reported its strongest growth in passenger traffic in more than a decade in 2011, even against the background of the Middle East's regional social unrest. Despite the Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa and some of the Gulf states, Saudi Arabian passenger traffic boomed in 2011, up 13.6% year-on-year in 2011, to just over 54 million passengers, as the national economy expanded 6.8% (real GDP estimate) on expanding oil output and renewed government and private sector investment. Large infrastructure investments are fuelling high movements of migrants workers from around the Gulf as well as India, Southeast Asia and China.