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Air Arabia Q1 2020 net profit falls 45 per cent

The airline also reported a turnover of Dhs901m in the first quarter of this year

May 17, 2020

UAE carrier Air Arabia has reported a Q1 2020 net profit of Dhs71m, down 45 per cent from the Dhs128m it recorded in Q1 2019.

The airline also posted a turnover of Dhs901m in the first quarter of this year, a 12 per cent year-on-year decline.

Over 2.4 million passengers flew on the low-cost airline between January-March this year, a 14 per cent decline over the corresponding period last year.

The UAE decided to suspend all regular commercial passenger flights from the country beginning March 26.

Read: IATA calls on Saudi Arabia for support amid mounting virus concerns

The airline’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – during the first three months of the year stood at 83 per cent.

“The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the global aviation, which materialized in airport closures, travel restrictions and low travel demand, has affected the overall performance of the quarter. Nonetheless, we are glad that Air Arabia still managed to deliver profitability and solid performance during the first quarter of this year,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia.

“The management team has taken a series of business decisions to control our fixed and running costs during this period while supporting our business continuity. All these measures are set in motion at a time when airlines around the world continue to battle the biggest challenge faced in the history of aviation.”

Air Arabia had organised several repatriation flights since the suspension of regular commercial passenger flights in March.

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital’s first low-cost carrier, received its ‘Air Operating Certificate’ (AOC) in April, which allows it to begin operations from Abu Dhabi.

The AOC indicates that the new airline has the required professional capabilities, adheres to all the safety regulations needed for aircraft operations and has been proven fit-to-fly following the completion of inspections by the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the fifth UAE national airline, will continue to work with the GCAA to finalise the launch date as “market conditions improve and skies are open again.”