DUBAI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Air Arabia, a low-cost airline based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced on Friday that its second-quarter profit jumped 187 percent year over year to reach 459 million dirhams (about 125 million U.S. dollars).
The company's turnover increased by 25 percent to 1.39 billion dirhams in the second quarter from 1.11 billion dirhams in the same period last year, due to strong demand for air travel, UAE's official news agency WAM quoted the company as saying.
More than 3.8 million passengers took Air Arabia flights between April and June, registering a year-on-year growth of 37 percent, it said.
In the first half of 2023, the airline recorded a net profit of 801 million dirhams, up by 78 percent compared to 451 million dirhams in the same period last year, it noted, adding its half-year turnover recorded a 26 percent year-on-year increase to 2.82 billion dirhams.
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, credited the airline's strong performance to its business model, expanding fleet size and network, as well as its prudent financial and cost control measures, among other factors, the WAM reported.
Three new aircraft were added to Air Arabia's fleet between January and June, bringing the total number of its owned and leased aircraft to 71. At the same time, the carrier launched 18 new routes across its seven operating hubs in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt, Armenia, and Pakistan, according to the WAM report.
