Rise in UAE's Air Arabia Passengers

Air Arabia carried some 4.7 million passengers in 2011, a six per cent growth compared with the previous year. The airline's ambitious network expansion strategy was central to the significant growth in passenger numbers witnessed over the past year.

In 2011, Air Arabia added six new routes to Moscow and Yekaterinburg in Russia, Kharkiv and Donetsk in Ukraine, and Gassim and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, the airline also launched non-stop services from its Alexandria hub to Milan in Italy and Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia. "Air Arabia continues to witness significant year-on-year growth," said group chief executive Adel Ali.