Net profit stood at Dh34 million in the first three months of 2021 for Air Arabia amid travel slump and lockdown restrictions.
The Middle East budget airline had reoprted Dh71 million profit during 1st quarter of 2020. So, technically speaking , the carrier sustained a 52% drop in this quarter, but its still a profit , compared to the finance sheets of carriers around the world.
Net profit fell to Dh34 million in the first three months of 2021, compared to Dh71m in the same period last year, Air Arabia said in a statement on Sunday. First quarter revenue declined 37% year-on-year to Dh572m.
"We are proud that Air Arabia managed to post another profitable quarter despite the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry worldwide," Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, said.
While flight resumption during the pandemic remains subject to restrictions and changing travel regulations, Air Arabia flown to a selected number of destinations across its five hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt.
The limited resumption of flights across various markets helped support the first quarter financial and operational performance, said the airline in a statement.
"Although the tightened restrictions on air travel continued in first quarter of this year, the gradual resumption to selected destinations combined with cost control measures adopted by the carrier helped to deliver profitability during the first quarter of this year”.
More than 1.3 million flyers used Air Arabia between January and March 2021 across the carrier’s five hubs while the airline’s average seat load factor stood at 77 %.
“While we remain hopeful that air travel restrictions will ease with the increasing rate of vaccination drives across key markets, Air Arabia remains focused on adopting further measures to control costs and support business continuity during this period while we continue to resume operations where possible,” said the carrier’s chairman.
