UAE’s Air Arabia reports net loss of Dhs169m for H1 2020

UAE-based carrier Air Arabia has registered a net loss of Dhs169m for the first half ending June 30, 2020, it announced on August 10.

The company’s turnover for the first six months of 2020 registered Dhs1.021bn, a drop of 53 per cent compared to Dhs2.173bn in the corresponding period last year.

Air Arabia served a total 2.48 million passengers from all its four hubs in the first half of 2020, a drop of 57 per cent compared to the first half of 2019.

H1 2020 results were largely impacted by the second quarter that witnessed the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic on airlines operation.

Regular flight schedule was affected by airport closures and suspension of flights. Operations during the second quarter relied by large on repatriation, charter, and cargo flights.

This resulted in lower revenues for the second quarter equalling Dhs120m, consequently impacting the second quarter profitability to a net loss of Dhs239m.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia started the year 2020 with strong performance promising another year of growth and profitability. However, the unprecedent impact of Covid-19 left airlines worldwide battling the strongest challenge in its history.”

“The full impact of Covid-19 on airline operations was fully materialised in the second quarter as a result of border closures and flights suspension across all key markets. This fact has led airlines to focus on controlling cost while supporting global relief efforts with repatriation and aid flights.”

Air Arabia today operates a mix of scheduled, repatriation, charter, and cargo flights across its operating hubs in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt.

Read: UAE’s new low-cost airline Air Arabia Abu Dhabi operates its inaugural flight

In July 2020, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the capital’s first low cost carrier, launched its operations from its base at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Air Arabia has also upgraded its customer experience journey to include all safety measures.