According to the chief executive of the UAE-listed Air Arabia, after securing all the necessary operational licenses for budget carriers the company is planning to launch its first flying venture in Pakistan and Armenia by Early June in 2022.
As stated by Adel Ali on the sidelines of the Arab Aviation Summit in Ras-al-Khaimah on Tuesday, Air Arabia will lease three Airbus A320 jets with Karachi-based Fly Jinnah to initially begin with domestic flights within the country, while two leased A320s will be assigned to Fly Arna that will begin with their first international route.
“They’re both working day and night on the technical part to earn the Air Operator Certificate [AOC], and we have positive hopes that everything on our part will be done and dusted by early May. If we do all that and we can receive the AOC, then we are hopeful that either by late May or by early June we should be able to operate both airlines,” he said at the conference.
As the UAE has loosened some pandemic-related travel restrictions, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a low-cost joint venture formed with Etihad Airways, is all set to further expand its operations this year, he told at the conference. There are currently four Airbus narrow-body aircraft in its fleet that are being operated by the company.
Adding to the conversation, Mr. Ali said, “There is a lot of construction going on, and before this summer approaches, we would like to bring more planes into the hub.” A verdict on the number of planes will be made in the next few weeks.
