MANAMA: Air Arabia yesterday announced record financial results for the fourth quarter and for the full year ending December 31, 2021, despite the prevailing impact of Covid-19 pandemic that continued throughout the year.
The Mena region’s largest low-cost carrier reported net profit of AED720 million ($196m) for the full year ending December 31, 2021, an increase of 475 per cent compared to AED192m ($52m) net loss registered for the full year 2020, which was heavily impacted by pandemic restrictions on air travel.
The airline’s turnover for the full year 2021 reached AED3.17 billion, an increase of 71 per cent compared to the AED1.85bn registered for the full year 2020.
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 54pc compared to 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 73pc.
The airline’s board has proposed a dividend distribution of 8.5pc of share capital, which is equivalent to 8.5 fils per share.
In 2021 Air Arabia received a brand-new Airbus A321 neo LR airplane bringing its total fleet size to 58 aircraft and added 44 new routes across its five hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt.
In the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2021, the carrier reported a net profit of AED467m compared to AED20m in the same period of 2020.
The turnover for the last quarter 2021 reached AED1.3bn, an increase of 143pc compared to the same quarter of 2020.
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