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Air Arabia

Air Arabia Overview

Established in February 2003, Air Arabia was the first low-cost airline in the Middle East.

The airline broke even during its first year in business and launched an initial public offering for 55% of its stock early in 2007.

Air Arabia operates more than 200 routes across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe with a total fleet of around 75 aircraft.

It has six main hubs: Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan.

Subsidiaries include Air Arabia Egypt, Air Arabia Maroc, Air Arabia Holidays and Air Arabia Cargo.

Air Arabia News

Gulf airlines conflict: People wait for their flight at Lebanon's Beirut-Rafic Hariri airport during schedule disruptions stemming from the Iran-Israel conflict

Flight detours and high oil prices raise costs for Gulf airlines

Gulf carriers are confronting escalating operational costs as the Israel-Iran conflict disrupts regional air travel and drives up fuel prices. Airlines across the region have adjusted flight paths, with many suspending services to parts of the Levant and diverting European-bound traffic via the Red Sea, Egypt or northern Saudi Arabia. In some cases the detours […]

Cancelled flights shown at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. Carriers are facing major disruption across the region

Gulf airlines suspend routes and reroute flights

Major Gulf carriers continue to implement sweeping route changes and flight suspensions amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.   Regional airspace closures are raising operational risks and disrupting travel across the Middle East. Airspace over Iran remains closed, with data from FlightRadar24 showing commercial aircraft rerouting across Saudi Arabia and Egypt to avoid the conflict […]

Runaway success: Dubai Financial Market is outpacing its regional rivals

At 17-year highs, Dubai stocks outshine Gulf rivals

Dubai’s stock index hit fresh 17-year highs this week, as first-quarter earnings rose and a buoyant non-oil economy convinced investors to favour UAE stocks over the much larger Saudi market.  Gulf markets, like bourses worldwide, tumbled in early April after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports to the US. In contrast to the […]

Workers inspect a Flynas jet on the tarmac in Riyadh. The IPO could value Flynas at up to $3.7bn

Flynas to test appetite for airline IPOs as Gulf rivals look on

Low-cost carrier Flynas is preparing to go public on the Saudi Exchange this month in a deal that is being watched not only by investors but also by Gulf rivals considering their own listings, analysts have told AGBI. Among them is Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, whose long-anticipated initial public offering could be shaped by Flynas’ […]

Air Arabia's fleet expanded to 83 Airbus aircraft, with two Airbus A320 jets added in January

Air Arabia turnover rises despite challenges

UAE low-cost airline Air Arabia said turnover registered a double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2025 despite fuel price volatility, currency fluctuations and supply chain challenges. Revenue rose 14 percent year on year to AED1.8 billion ($490 million), as passenger volume increased 11 percent annually to nearly 5 million, the Sharjah-headquartered airline said in a […]

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal speaks at a news conference, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Prince Alwaleed’s Flynas seeks $1.1bn in Saudi IPO 

Saudi budget airline Flynas is looking to raise as much as SAR4.1 billion ($1.1 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) that started this week to finance expansion. The IPO price range was set at between SAR76 and SAR80 per share, implying a market capitalisation of as much as $3.65 billion. The airline, which is […]

Passengers boarding a FlyDubai aircraft in Dubai. The airline's fleet is made up of narrow-body jets

Narrow-body aircraft to push growth of Middle East fleets

Gulf Arab airlines and other Middle East carriers will expand their fleets at almost double the rate of the global average over the next ten years, industry experts say. They will also increase the share of narrow-body planes over twin-aisle aircraft. Globally, fleet size is expected grow by 2.8 percent per year over the next […]

Air Arabia reported a net profit before tax of AED1.6bn in 2024, up 4 percent from AED1.5bn a year ago

Air Arabia declares 25% dividend as revenue soars

UAE low-cost airline Air Arabia has increased its dividend payout after turnover grew by double-digits in 2024, the company said in a statement. Based in Sharjah and traded on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Air Arabia will pay a 25 percent cash dividend or AED1.2 billion to shareholders. The company’s shares have risen 11 percent […]