Dubai, UAE—Low-cost airline flydubai announced record profits for 2022 on Wednesday helped by nearly 1,300 shuttle flights to neighboring Qatar during the football World Cup.
Profits soared 43 percent to 1.2 billion dirhams ($327 million) despite higher oil prices as the United Arab Emirates carrier bounced back strongly from a Covid-hit 2021.
The year ended with a mass airlift of World Cup fans to and from Qatar, with 1,290 flights — up to 30 a day — ferrying 133,000 people of 171 different nationalities, a statement said.
“2022 has been an exceptional year, with accelerated demand, bookended by the final few months of Expo 2020 and the unprecedented efforts to support travel to and from the World Cup in Doha,” said CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith.
“Navigating through challenging times characterized by continued fluctuating fuel prices, disruption to supply chains, rising global inflation and geopolitical unrest did not dampen our strong performance last year.”
flydubai, which has been operating since 2009, reported a 72 percent rise in annual revenues and an 89 percent increase in passengers to 10.6 million.
The airline, based in the Middle East financial hub of Dubai, hired a record 1,300 employees and took delivery of 17 aircraft, another new high.
Fuel remained the biggest cost, rising to 33.9 percent of total operating costs from 21.9 percent in 2021.
Last month Dubai’s airport said passenger traffic more than doubled to 66 million in 2022, partly because of a large number of Russian travelers following the invasion of Ukraine.
