Air Arabia:
Flying the Sharjan Flag — May 2026

Two of the world’s most commercially successful airlines, based in the UAE, have been in the front line of the conflict between Iran and the USA/Israel. One is Emirates Airline, the other is Air Arabia — the LCC flag-carrier of Sharjah.

As with the other Gulf airlines, Air Arabia was forced to ground most of its fleet in March but services have since been resumed, and by May traffic was running at about 60% of February’s level. Its recently released first quarter 2026 results show a fall of 11% in passengers compared to the same period in 2025, but the revenue decline was limited to 1% resulting in turnover of AED1.8bn (US$490m) and a net profit of AED278m, 22% down on last year.