Air Arabia delivers record net profit of $196m for 2021

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, on Monday announced a record a net profit of AED720m ($196m) for the full year ending December 31, 2021, despite the prevailing impact of Covid-19 pandemic that continued throughout the year. The profit is an increase of 475% compared to AED192m net loss registered for the full year 2020, which was heavily impacted by Covid-19 pandemic restrictions on air travel. The airline’s turnover for the full year 2021 reached AED3.17b, an increase of 71% compared to AED1.85b registered for the full year 2020. In Q4 ending December 31, 2021, Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED467m compared to AED20m in the same period last year. The turnover for the last quarter 2021 reached AED1.3b, an increase of 143% compared to the same quarter last year. The financial and operational results achieved in 2021 were backed by ease of travel restrictions and recovery in demand for air travel. Air Arabia served more than 6.7m passengers in 2021 from its five hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt, an increase of 54% compared to the 4.3m passengers carried last year. The average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – for the full year remained strong at 73%.<br/>