The first and largest low cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, Air Arabia’s net profit for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2009, stood at 452 million dirhams, sustaining the strong 2008 performance of 454 million dirhams, excluding exceptional items. For the full-year 2009, the company registered a turnover of 2 billion dirhams, a 4.5 percent decline from 2.066 billion dirhams recorded in 2008. The airline served 4.1 million passengers in 2009, an increase of 14.2 percent compared to 3.6 million passengers in 2008.

In the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2009, Air Arabia’s average seat load factor - or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats - stood at 80 percent.

“We are glad to share Air Arabia’s success with our shareholders by distributing a 10 percent cash dividend of the company’s share capital for the second consecutive year,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al-Thani, chairman of Air Arabia. “Last year represented serious challenges to the global aviation sector and led to the industry’s highest loss ever. With the pressure on yields increasing significantly due to continuous overcapacity and volatile oil prices associated with the world’s financial crisis, the year 2010 remains uncertain.