Airbus Middle East revenue doubles in 2025, despite backlogs

• Mena revenue hit $7.8bn
• Revenue and backlog hit record
• Industry faces plane shortage

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus doubled its Middle East revenue in 2025, even as the company’s backlog grew to record levels.

Overall revenue at the company grew 6 percent year-on-year in 2025 to €73.4 billion ($86.3 billion) across its commercial aviation, helicopters, space and defence divisions.

Net income hit €5.2 billion ($6.1 billion), a record high.

In the Middle East revenue more than doubled from €3.1 billion ($3.6 billion) in 2024 to €6.6 billion ($7.8 billion). Airbus did not say how many planes had been delivered to Gulf carriers in this time.

Airbus delivered 793 aircraft in 2025, up from the 766 in 2024 – but ended 2025 with a backlog of 8,754 aircraft, the company said in a press conference on Thursday. This is its highest backlog ever.

The France-based company is the world’s largest manufacturer of planes and helicopters. It said acute engine shortages, manufacturing issues relating to panels revealed in December 2025 and geopolitical uncertainties all contributed to the growing backlog of planes.

• Gulf aviation set for another record-breaking year ahead
• IMF boss tells Gulf countries to ‘get your Airbus’
• Boeing tops Airbus in 2025 orders with help from Gulf carriers

The airline industry as a whole faces a significant backlog of planes. The global order backlog surpassed 17,000 aircraft in 2025, equal to almost 60 percent of the active fleet, according to the International Air Travel Association.

That has left many Middle Eastern airlines waiting on their orders, many of which are placed with Airbus.

This includes Qatar Airways, whose new CEO Hamad Al-Khater met with Airbus in February. He said is “hopeful” that the company’s 60 planes on order will be delivered on schedule by the third quarter of 2026, according to Bloomberg. 

Airbus declined to comment on the delivery of aircraft to Qatar Airways.

In early February Emirates CEO Sir Tim Clark told AGBI that his airline had a backlog of 350 aircraft – 315 planes from Boeing and 57 Airbus – and that the delays had cost his company an estimated $10 billion.

Flyadeal, Saudi Arabia’s low-cost carrier, ordered four widebody A320s in 2019, and said in November that deliveries of those and more jets on order are likely through 2027.

In October 2025, Emirati carrier Etihad announced it had purchased four Airbus SE 320 jets on the secondary market.