UAE airlines likely to see falling profits this year: IATA

The profitability of airlines based in the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East's main aviation hub, is likely to fall this year amid limited growth in demand, the head of IATA said Tuesday. The UAE is home to Emirates, which flies more passengers long haul than any other airline, as well as rapidly expanding Etihad Airways and low cost carriers flydubai and Air Arabia. "The UAE carriers will have a year that is probably below 2016," Alexandre de Juniac, CE of the IATA said. Low-cost carriers that offer long-haul services, as seen in Europe, could also soon start to take hold in the region, he said. IATA said in December that Middle East airlines are likely to see profits fall to $300m in 2017 from $900m last year in part due to high capacity and limited demand growth, but did not give specifics on UAE carriers at that time. Half-year profit fell 75% at Emirates and the airline's President Tim Clark said last week that while yield declines had halted it was still a tough year. Air Arabia and flydubai reported lower full-year profit for 2016, while Etihad has not yet reported its results but has said it is reviewing its business.<br/>