UAE’s Air Arabia launches new route to Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah

UAE low cost carrier Air Arabia has announced the launch of a direct non-stop service to the city of Sulaymaniyah in the north of Iraq.

From November 6, 2018, Air Arabia will offer two weekly flights between its hub in Sharjah and Sulaimaniyah, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The outbound flight on Tuesday will depart from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) at 5am and land in Sulaimaniyah International Airport (ISU) at 6.55am local time. The return flight will leave Sulaimaniyah at 7.35am and land in Sharjah at 11.05am local time.

On Fridays, the flight will depart from Sharjah at 3pm and land in Sulaimaniyah at 4.55pm local time. The return flight will leave the Iraqi city at 5.35pm and land in Sharjah at 9.05pm local time.

The new service marks Air Arabia’s fourth destination in Iraq following Baghdad, Najaf and Erbil, and increases the airline’s global network to 152.

“We continuously seek ways to enhance airline connectivity with Iraq, given the growth in business ties between the two nations,” said Adel Al Ali, group CEO of Air Arabia.

Air Arabia currently operates flights from four hubs located in the Middle East and North Africa at Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan.

The airline reported a net profit of Dhs230m for the first half of the year, a 12 per cent decrease compared to Dhs261m posted during the same period last year.

It flew 4.2 million passengers during the first half of 2018 and its average seat load factor for the first six month of 2018 – passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at 79 per cent.