Air Arabia awaits approval of flights to India from Ras Al Khaimah
Air Arabia is still waiting for approvals to fly to India from Ras Al Khaimah following the closure of RAK Airways, which had operated to the country until last year.
But that is not stopping the region’s biggest low-cost carrier from expanding elsewhere in south Asia. Air Arabia said it would fly three times per week to Chittagong in Bangladesh from next month.
Air Arabia started flying from the northernmost emirate in May after RAK Airways, the emirate’s flag carrier, ceased operations six months earlier. The new hub is its second in the UAE and the fourth worldwide.
“We are still waiting. Every week we write to them and they say wait for a few days,” said Mohammed Qazi, RAK Airport’s chief executive. “We hope to get the approvals very soon, as it affects people in the Northern Emirates.”
In the meantime, the carrier is looking at other regional destinations to add new routes.
“Chittagong is a tried and tested route by RAK Airways. We are very happy to operate this route again by Air Arabia,” said Mr Qazi.
“We are looking at the moment at Nepal and Qatar,” Mr Qazi added, referring to popular routes that were previously operated by RAK Airways.
Air Arabia currently offers direct services to Jeddah, Cairo, Muscat, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Dhaka from its RAK hub.
Last month, the airport revised down passenger forecasts this year. Currently, it expects to handle 250,000 passengers, compared to the 400,000 passengers that it previously anticipated.
Air Arabia second-quarter profit jumped 128 per cent amid cost- cutting and higher passenger numbers. Net income increased to Dh173 million in the three months ending June 30, compared with Dh76m a year earlier. Turnover increased 15 per cent to Dh915m in the second quarter versus Dh797m last year.
The airline served more than 1.6 million passengers in the second quarter, an increase of 8 per cent compared with the 1.5 million passengers carried a year earlier.
“We are still waiting for the India authorities to fly to the country from RAK,” said an Air Arabia spokesman. “We will start by flying to Calicut and we hope to grow to other cities.”