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Arab airline leaders gathering in Doha face a challenge that reaches far beyond their own balance sheets: keeping a major part of the world’s connecting aviation network dependable while geopolitical conflict repeatedly disrupts it.
Qatar Airways is hosting the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization’s 59th Annual General Meeting from November 2–4, 2026, at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel. According to the host’s announcement, the gathering brings together more than 200 senior aviation executives and stakeholders under the patronage of Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
The central question is what cooperation can deliver when airlines cannot control the conflicts threatening their operations.
A crisis with consequences beyond the Arab world
The commercial damage is substantial. In its June 2026 outlook, the International Air Transport Association projected global airline net profits of US$23 billion, down from its earlier US$41 billion forecast, citing Middle East disruptions and higher fuel prices. It expected Middle Eastern airlines collectively to record a loss. Those figures are forecasts, rather than completed financial results.
The operational problem also remains current. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s active conflict-zone advisory register includes notices covering Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, alongside several other regional conflict areas. The notices have different geographic scopes and recommendations; their existence does not mean every airport or flight in those countries is closed or unsafe.
For airlines, avoiding affected airspace can mean longer journeys, additional fuel, disrupted aircraft rotations, and more complicated crew scheduling.
For tourism, the consequences travel further. A missed connection through a Gulf hub can interrupt a holiday in Africa, a business trip to Asia, or a small island hotel’s expected arrivals. Connectivity disruptions affect destinations far removed from the fighting.
What Doha is expected to discuss
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Hamad Al-Khater, who chairs the AGM, described regional cooperation in the supplied announcement as the industry’s “greatest strength” amid geopolitical disruption.
AACO Secretary General Abdul Wahab Teffaha similarly identified geopolitical uncertainty, operational pressures, and environmental sustainability as shared challenges.
The published November 3 program includes Teffaha’s State of the Industry report, an address by Arab Civil Aviation Organization Director General Khalid Cherkaoui, and an economic outlook from Bloomberg Intelligence’s George Ferguson.
A CEO panel moderated by CNN’s Richard Quest is scheduled to include representatives from Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, Gulf Air, and Oman Air. A closed member session will consider committee recommendations and strategic, administrative, and financial matters. These are scheduled discussions, rather than announced agreements or completed outcomes.
AACO already has machinery for practical cooperation
Established in 1965 within the Arab League framework, AACO represents airline interests and organizes joint work. Its role is industry coordination and advocacy; decisions on sovereign airspace and military activity lie elsewhere.
Its existing programs provide a practical starting point.
AACO’s aviation security group supports information exchange on members’ air-route risk assessments. Its emergency response program brings together 12 airlines around preparedness and a mutual assistance agreement. Other projects address ground handling, engineering and maintenance, fuel, training, and digital transformation.
These mechanisms matter because crisis cooperation requires established contacts, responsibilities, and procedures before an emergency occurs.
However, a programme’s existence does not demonstrate how effectively it performed during a particular disruption. Public information reviewed for this article does not establish a quantified, independently audited assessment of AACO’s contribution during the latest crisis.
What a useful outcome could look like
The strongest realistic outcome would be a clearer operational framework for the next disruption.
That could include faster exchanges of security information, updated emergency contacts, tested mutual assistance arrangements, and better coordination with civil aviation authorities. Each airline would still need to make its own operational decisions under applicable regulatory requirements.
A second opportunity concerns passengers. Participating carriers could explore more workable arrangements for rebooking, communications, and assistance when sudden closures break connecting journeys. Such arrangements would require commercial agreements and clear responsibilities; AACO membership alone does not provide them.
A third possible outcome is a coordinated policy message to governments on maintaining civilian connectivity, sharing timely information, and avoiding unnecessary administrative obstacles during emergencies.
These are analytical possibilities, not confirmed resolutions of the Doha meeting.
Shared interests, different vulnerabilities
Arab aviation encompasses global connecting carriers, low-cost operators, national airlines, and smaller businesses serving markets with very different resources.
A major hub airline may have more scope to redeploy aircraft or negotiate alternative arrangements. A smaller carrier may face tighter cash reserves and fewer options when a route becomes commercially or operationally difficult.
IATA’s June outlook specifically warned that smaller airlines entering the year with weak balance sheets were struggling with the financial shock.
The implication for AACO is that cooperation must be usable by members with limited resources. Training, shared expertise, and practical emergency support may deliver more immediate value to them than broad declarations.
The member airlines—and a discrepancy
The supplied Qatar Airways announcement names 39 member airlines:
Afriqiyah Airways, Air Algerie, Air Arabia, Air Cairo, AlMasria Universal Airlines, Badr Airlines, Berniq Airways, EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad Airways, flyadeal, flydubai, flynas, Global Aviation, Gulf Air, Iraqi Airways, Jordan Aviation, Kuwait Airways, Libyan Airlines, Mauritania Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Nesma Airlines, Nile Air, Nouvelair, Oman Air, Palestinian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Red Sea Airlines, Riyadh Air, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SalamAir, Saudia, Sudan Airways, Syrian Airlines, Tarco Aviation, Tassili Airlines, Tunisair, and Yemen Airways.
However, AACO’s public directory reviewed for this article lists 38 airlines, including all the above except SalamAir. Its AGM overview also refers to 38 members. SalamAir’s inclusion in the host’s announcement therefore requires clarification; the two published accounts should not be presented as fully reconciled.
The test comes after the speeches
Doha offers a valuable opportunity to connect airline leadership, technical expertise, and government-facing advocacy during an exceptionally difficult period.
Its success will become clearer through subsequent decisions: which procedures change, which airlines participate, who takes responsibility, and whether commitments have deadlines.
For travelers and tourism businesses, the most meaningful result would be tangible improvement when the next disruption arrives—clearer information, workable alternatives, and faster assistance. That is where regional solidarity becomes something passengers can experience.
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