Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing low-cost airline flyadeal ended 2025 on a record-setting high, closing out a year marked by unprecedented expansion, operational excellence, and milestone achievements across its network.

The carrier transported 10.7 million passengers—a 33% increase year-on-year—crossing the 10-million threshold for the first time in its history. This growth was achieved despite a comparatively modest 21% rise in seat capacity, underscoring strong market demand and efficient utilization.

Network expansion was equally robust: flyadeal added 66% more routes than in 2024, fueled by new aircraft deliveries, intensified international operations, and its largest-ever Hajj and Umrah pilgrim transport campaign. The airline’s scheduled and seasonal destinations rose by 50%, spanning markets across Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and South Asia.

The number of pilgrims ferried to the Kingdom more than doubled to 220,000, reflecting flyadeal’s growing role in facilitating global religious travel. To support its increasing scale, the airline opened a new Operations Control Centre in Jeddah—four times the size of the previous facility—and announced Madinah as its fourth operational base within Saudi Arabia.

In a string of industry firsts, flyadeal became the first Saudi airline to wet-lease aircraft both into and out of the Kingdom, and an early mover regionally by training its cabin crew as accredited tour guides.

The carrier also widened its commercial footprint by joining the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and signing its first Global Distribution System (GDS) agreement with Amadeus, making its inventory more accessible to travel agents worldwide. It furthermore launched its first loyalty partnership with AlFursan, Saudia’s rewards programme, enabling customers to earn and redeem miles across both airlines.

Complementing its growth story, flyadeal maintained its reputation for reliability—posting an On-Time Performance (OTP) rate of nearly 90% throughout 2025, making it the most punctual low-cost airline in the Middle East and North Africa. In June 2025, the carrier was named the world’s most punctual airline—across both budget and full-service categories—achieving 91.77% on-time performance, according to Cirium data.

Executives highlight resilience, vision, and performance
CEO Steven Greenway described 2025 as a “landmark year,” crediting success to strategic foresight, teamwork, and swift adaptation to new opportunities.

“We expanded our footprint aggressively—launching new routes in Pakistan and Syria, boosting our Egyptian operations, and setting a new record for inbound pilgrim traffic,” said Greenway. “Our people’s dedication and agility made this possible, and 2026 promises even more exciting developments.”

COO Captain Abdulaziz Bahri reflected on operational achievements supported by 16 additional aircraft—including eight wet-leased jets that played a key role in managing global Hajj and Umrah flights.

“It was likely the most successful year in our history, both operationally and in punctuality,” he said.

CFO Abdulrahman Ajabnoor detailed the airline’s strategic leap into long-haul operations, including an order for 10 new Airbus A330 widebodies.

“With strong backing from the Saudia Group, we’re investing sensibly for the future while keeping operational costs low to deliver affordable fares,” he emphasized.

Chief Commercial and Customer Officer Rogier van Enk highlighted flyadeal’s expanded fare options and service upgrades, remarking that the airline’s broad network now connects “more cities, more often,” while enhancing the passenger experience.

CIO Mohannad AlSalmi credited the airline’s in-house technology team for its transformative role.

“Building internal tech capabilities allowed us to roll out essential projects that boosted efficiency and ensured smooth operations 24/7,” he said.

Chief People Officer Mohammed Mudhish celebrated workforce growth in line with Saudi Vision 2030, noting the company’s 1,800-strong team and its new cadet pilot and student internship programmes that foster Saudi talent.

Chief Audit, Risk and Compliance Officer Yasir Malak remarked that 2025 “tested the company’s resilience,” but also reinforced its governance and operational discipline.

2025 at a glance

• 10.7 million passengers carried (+33%), surpassing 10 million for the first time.

• Seat capacity up 21%.

• 159 routes operated (+66%) from multiple Saudi bases.

• 43 destinations served year-round and seasonally (+50%).

• Fleet expanded to 44 Airbus A320s plus eight wet-leased aircraft.

• 220,000 Hajj and Umrah passengers carried (+107%).

• Widebody fleet order: 10 Airbus A330s.

• Expansion into South Asia via five routes to Pakistan and debut services to Damascus.

• Named most punctual airline in MENA and world’s No. 1 in June 2025 (Cirium).

• Opened new Jeddah Operations Control Centre.

• Launched loyalty, training, and talent programmes aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.

Malaysia Aviation Group, the parent company of Malaysia Airlines, is considering whether to introduce a green tax on passengers to help cover the rising cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), potentially adding to airfares.

Group chief Capt. Nasaruddin A. Bakar said Monday that the company was examining different options as airlines worldwide seek to reduce carbon emissions while facing high SAF prices and limited supplies.

“We are looking at all options,” Nasaruddin told The Associated Press on the sidelines of an aviation sustainability conference. He stressed that both passengers and airlines needed to be able to afford the transition to cleaner fuel.

Singapore, Malaysia’s neighbour, has already announced a government-mandated green aviation levy set to take effect in January 2027. Charges will vary according to destination and cabin class, making Singapore the first country to announce such a measure.

The aviation sector faces growing pressure to address its environmental impact as global air travel demand increases. The International Energy Agency estimates that aviation accounts for about 2.5% of annual global carbon emissions, while the UN-backed International Civil Aviation Organization has established a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

According to the aviation organisation, sustainable aviation fuel could reduce the industry's emissions by around 65%.

SAF is typically made from renewable materials, including used cooking oil, waste fats and agricultural residues. It can be blended with conventional jet fuel and used in existing aircraft without requiring changes to their engines.

However, its widespread adoption remains constrained by higher production costs, limited manufacturing capacity and restricted access to sustainable raw materials.

The International Air Transport Association estimates that SAF currently represents less than 1% of global jet fuel consumption, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing airlines as they work towards their emissions targets.

Source: Associated Press

SalamAir has entered into a distribution agreement with travel technology company Amadeus as the Omani low-cost airline steps up efforts to expand its international presence and reach new customer segments.

Under the agreement, travel sellers connected to the Amadeus Travel Platform will gain access to SalamAir's fares and services, allowing the airline to expand its distribution network and improve the availability of its products across global markets.

Steven Allen, chief commercial officer of SalamAir, said the partnership would support the airline's growth ambitions by strengthening its international market presence and making its services more accessible to travellers seeking affordable air travel.

The agreement forms part of SalamAir's broader strategy to diversify its sales channels, increase its global visibility and respond to rising travel demand across its expanding network.

Maher Koubaa, executive vice-president of the Travel Unit and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Amadeus, said the partnership reflected the company's commitment to supporting the low-cost airline sector. He added that Amadeus' technology solutions were designed to help low-cost carriers expand and compete in international markets.

Source: Oman Daily Observer

Emirates is expanding its Dubai-Durban schedule with 14 additional flights during the 2026-27 festive season, offering travellers more options during one of the busiest periods of the year.

The additional services will operate as a second daily flight between December 17 and 23, 2026, and January 2 and 8, 2027. The airline will deploy a three-class Boeing 777 on the route.

Flight EK2535 will depart Dubai at 04:00 and arrive in Durban at 10:30. The return service, EK2536, will leave Durban at 12:15 and land in Dubai at 22:30.

Emirates' existing daily flights, EK775 and EK776, will continue to operate according to their regular schedules.

The airline is also providing flexible booking options to help passengers manage changes to their travel plans. Customers booking flights to Dubai can change their travel dates an unlimited number of times without fees across all cabin classes. For tickets to other destinations, passengers are entitled to one complimentary date change.

Emirates' Hold My Fare service allows customers to reserve a ticket price for 24 hours at no additional cost. The airline has also reduced its refund fees.

Source: TradeArabia

Lufthansa has increased fuel loading on flights bound for Frankfurt Airport as a precautionary measure amid tighter jet fuel supplies caused by reduced pipeline capacity.

The airline said on Thursday that the move was intended to manage potential supply constraints at Germany’s largest aviation hub. Airport operator Fraport confirmed that routine maintenance was under way on a pipeline supplying jet fuel to the airport.

Fraport said the maintenance had been factored into its operational planning and was not expected to cause a fuel supply bottleneck. Alternative supply routes and sufficient storage capacity were helping to mitigate potential disruption.

“The airport's operational capability is therefore not affected,” Fraport said.

Lufthansa said it was not currently anticipating any flight cancellations as a result of the situation.

German newspaper Bild first reported the additional fuelling measures, citing internal instructions reportedly issued to Lufthansa pilots on selected routes. The practice, known as “tankering”, involves carrying more fuel than required for a flight so that an aircraft needs less or no refuelling at its destination.

According to Bild, the additional fuel carried by Airbus A320-family aircraft is limited to eight tonnes to ensure the planes can still be towed on the ground. The measures primarily affect short-haul services, although some long-haul flights are increasingly being included.

The precautionary steps are intended to give Lufthansa greater flexibility in managing its fuel requirements while pipeline maintenance continues at Frankfurt Airport.

Source: Reuters

Turkish Airlines has signed a strategic agreement with CFM International to strengthen engine maintenance capabilities and support the expansion of its Boeing 737 MAX fleet.

The long-term services agreement will cover the airline group's entire LEAP-1B engine fleet, including engines already ordered and delivered, spare engines, units installed on leased aircraft and potential future options. The combined total exceeds 600 engines operated by Turkish Airlines and its subsidiary, AJet.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed during a ceremony in Istanbul by Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Prof. Murat Şeker; Turkish Technic CEO and Board Member, Mikail Akbulut; and Safran CEO Olivier Andriès. Safran is one of the two parent companies of CFM International.

The agreement also includes a material services arrangement to support the development of an engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Türkiye.

Şeker said the partnership would help Turkish Airlines accommodate fleet and network growth while improving operational efficiency. He added that the expanded services agreement would provide the technical expertise and long-term support required to develop LEAP engine maintenance capabilities.

Akbulut said the agreement would enable Turkish Technic to undertake comprehensive LEAP engine maintenance. He also reaffirmed the company's commitment to investing in engine services alongside its existing aircraft and component maintenance operations.

Andriès described the MoU as another milestone in a relationship with Turkish Airlines that has lasted nearly four decades. He said the agreement reflected both companies' ambitions to support the airline's growth and fleet expansion, while promoting an open MRO ecosystem offering flexible, competitive services to improve operational performance and control costs.

GE Aerospace Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr. also welcomed the agreement, highlighting Turkish Airlines' extensive international network and its confidence in CFM engines. He said the partnership would build on the companies' established relationship as the airline expands its Istanbul operations and engine maintenance capabilities.

Turkish Airlines currently operates 96 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft powered by CFM56-7B engines and 79 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft equipped with LEAP-1B engines.

CFM said it had delivered more than 10,000 LEAP engines during the 10 years since the engine entered service, with the fleet accumulating over 100 million flight hours. The manufacturer continues to introduce upgrades, including a high-pressure turbine durability kit designed to extend time on wing and a reverse bleed system (RBS).

The agreement is expected to strengthen Turkish Airlines' long-standing relationship with CFM International and support the integration of newly ordered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into its expanding fleet. The planned engine MRO facility will also enhance Turkish Technic's ability to provide comprehensive maintenance services.

Source: Turkish Airlines