Sharjah-based Air Arabia, a leading low-cost carrier (LCC), recently welcomed onboard its 20 millionth passenger in less than eight years after its first flight.

“Eight years ago – when our first flight took off from Sharjah International Airport, at a time when the low-cost model was just introduced to the region – few of us could have imagined the day when we would cross the 20-million passenger mark,” said Adel Ali, Group chief executive officer, Air Arabia.

“The tremendous growth of Air Arabia since then is testament to our single-minded focus on providing our passengers with a growing range of destinations, great service and value-for-money fares.”

“Today, despite serving over 20 million passengers, we remain a young company committed to further expanding our horizons,” he said. “On behalf of everyone at Air Arabia, I would like to thank the 20 million people who have chosen to fly with us – and I look forward to welcoming onboard the next 20 million in the years to come,” he added.

Air Arabia’s first flight took off from Sharjah to Manama on October 28, 2003, marking the introduction of the LCC concept to the Middle East.

At the time, the carrier served five regional destinations. By the end of its first 12 months of operations, the pioneering airline carried 500,000 passengers to 16 different destinations.

Twenty million passengers later, the airline has expanded its reach to serve 66 destinations from three hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt, winning countless accolades along the way. The airline served nearly 4.5 million passengers last year alone, and currently operates a global fleet of 27 new Airbus A320 aircraft. – TradeArabia News Service