DUBAI — Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced that it had flown five million passengers since its launch in October 2003.
Christopher Louis D’souza, a real estate consultant based in Dubai, was named the carrier’s five millionth passenger.
Over a four-year period, Air Arabia has seen rapid growth and increasing popularity on its routes, particularly during the past year and a half.
Passenger traffic through the first half of 2007 saw 1.23 million passengers flying on Air Arabia, a 57.9 per cent increase from the same period in 2006.
Most recently, in July and August 2007, almost 500,000 passengers made Air Arabia their carrier of choice, up from 347,000 during the same period in 2006.
Kyle Haywood, commercial director of the airline, said: “We are pleased to have reached this landmark in such a short period of time. The popularity of our airline is a testament to the need in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region for an LCC with the highest level of service possible. We feel we have achieved that in Air Arabia, as we celebrate today the five million passengers who made us their carrier of choice.”