flydubai reports strong 2025 performance driven by record revenue, passenger growth and strategic network expansion

 

The Dubai-based carrier has delivered another strong financial performance for its financial year ending 31 December 2025, reporting a pre-tax profit of AED 2.2 billion (USD 591 million). Total revenue reached AED 13.6 billion (USD 3.7 billion), representing an increase of 6% compared to AED 12.8 billion (USD 3.5 billion) in 2024.

 

flydubai’s profit after tax stood at AED 1.9 billion (USD 531 million), reflecting the strength of its strategic network expansion, continued investment in innovation, enhancements to its customer experience and a sustained commitment to serving underserved markets.

 

Commenting on the airline’s Financial Results, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai, said: “Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, flydubai’s achievements align closely with Dubai’s broader economic vision, where aviation remains a cornerstone of Dubai’s growth strategy. Reporting its fifth consecutive year of strong profitability is a clear testament to flydubai’s disciplined strategy and operational resilience.

 

Throughout this period, the carrier successfully leveraged Dubai’s position as a leading global aviation hub, enabling it to capture strong, sustained passenger demand. At the same time, flydubai maintained a sharp focus on operational efficiency, ensuring it continues to invest wisely in its fleet, technology, product and talent development to support its ambitious future growth.”

 

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed added: “I am proud to see flydubai play a central role in supporting His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, in driving the implementation and progress of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) to become a leading global aviation hub. By connecting the city to more than 100 underserved markets, flydubai has contributed to attracting more visitors and reinforcing Dubai’s position as a gateway for trade, tourism and opportunity.”

 

flydubai maintained a robust EBITDA of AED 4.0 billion (USD 1.1 billion) in 2025. Fuel cost accounted for 25% of total operating expenses, while the closing cash and bank balance (including pre-delivery payments) totalled AED 5.6 billion (USD 1.5 billion). Enhancing operational efficiency remained a strategic priority, with on-time departure performance across the network improving by 6% compared to 2024.

 

The airline carried a record 15.7million passengers in 2025, driven by sustained demand for both business and leisure travel across its network. Business Class demand was particularly strong, with uptake increasing by 19% compared to 2024.

 

Increased frequencies and the extension of its network across key markets further supported passenger growth, with the Middle East recording an 17% increase, followed by Africa at 12% and Europe at 12%.

 

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, commenting on flydubai’s 2025 Full-Year Results, said: “Our strong financial performance in 2025 reflects the resilience of flydubai’s business model and the agility of our people. Throughout the year, we successfully navigated ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, continued supply chain constraints and rising maintenance costs, while maintaining operational efficiency and commercial momentum.

 

We are focused on disciplined, strategic growth, expanding our network and strengthening Dubai’s position as a leading global aviation hub. Today, we connect 140 airports to Dubai, facilitating trade, tourism and cultural exchange, while contributing meaningfully to the city’s economic growth. In addition, we made significant investments in technology, innovation and the enhancement of our in-house capabilities, while further elevating our customer experience. Laying strong foundations for the future, these investments will ensure we remain customer-focused and people-driven.”

 

flydubai continued to ramp up operations to meet increasing travel demand to and from the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the carrier operated 126,604flights, the second-highest number of flights serving the country, and recorded more than 400 departures in a single day during peak travel periods in December 2025.

 

Our network: flydubai continued its strategic route expansion, launching ninenew destinations and growing its network to 140 destinations in 58 countries. These additions include Al Alamein (Egypt); Antalya (Türkiye); Bushehr and Qeshm (Iran); Iași (Romania); Nairobi (Kenya); Peshawar (Pakistan); Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania). The carrier also resumed operations to threedestinations: Chișinău (Moldova), Damascus (Syria) and Tabriz (Iran).

 

Overall network capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), increased by 6%, while Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM) went up by 6% with Passenger Yield improving by 3% compared to 2024. 

 

Our fleet: flydubai took delivery of 12 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, expanding its fleet to 97 aircraft with an average age of 5.5 years. The carrier retired threeNext-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which were returned to the lessors.

 

The airline also finalised its retrofit programme, retrofitting eight Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft and bringing the total number of retrofitted aircraft in the fleet to 25. This is part of the carrier’s ongoing efforts to enhance product consistency and deliver a more cohesive travel experience for passengers in both Business and Economy Class. 

 

The year concluded with a strong presence at the Dubai Airshow, where new aircraft orders were announced, including 150 Airbus A321neos and 75 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. This strategic addition diversifies the carrier’s narrow-body fleet and strengthens its long-term strategy.

 

Sustainability: The Boeing 737 MAX remains central to flydubai’s operational efficiency strategy, delivering 14% greater fuel efficiency than its predecessor. In 2025, flydubai launched a solar power initiative at its Campus to support the use of clean energy, which is expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 1,211 tonnes.

 

In November 2025, the airline signed the Buckingham Palace Declaration, joining United for Wildlife’s Transport Taskforce to help combat illegal wildlife trafficking. This step reinforces flydubai’s commitment to upholding international regulations.

 

Our customer experience: In November 2025, the carrier enhanced its Economy Class offering across all flights, introducing meals and inflight entertainment for all Economy Class fares. This milestone marks a significant evolution of the airline’s business model, underscoring its commitment to putting customers first and responding to dynamic market needs.

 

flydubai also signed an agreement to introduce complimentary, high-speed Starlink inflight connectivity across its fleet from 2026, further elevating the onboard experience.

 

Our partnerships: The strategic partnership between Emirates and flydubai enabled more than 2.5 million passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity across a joint network of 243 destinations in 103 countries via Dubai’s global aviation hub in 2025.

 

During the year, the carrier signed 11 new interline agreements, expanding its portfolio to 42 interline partners and providing customers with access to more than 300 destinations across the combined flydubai and partner networks, in addition to its three codeshare agreements with Air Canada, Emirates and United Airlines.

 

Our workforce: The airline’s continued recruitment drive delivered an 11%increase in headcount, bringing its total workforce to 6,763 employees.

 

flydubai also strengthened its in-house capabilities with the launch of its Ab Initio Pilot Training Programme and Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Apprenticeship. These initiatives form part of the airline’s long-term workforce strategy to support the growing demands of its expanding fleet and network over the next decade.

 

Industry recognition: flydubai received the “Trailblazer Award for Outstanding New Service Launch” and was named “Airline of the Year” for the second time at the Aviation Achievement Awards 2025. The carrier was also awarded the Four-Star Major Airline rating by APEX and was recognised as the “Airline with the Best Connectivity in the Middle East” at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2025.

 

Outlook statement for 2026

 

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, commenting on the outlook for 2026, said: “As we look ahead to 2026, demand for travel remains healthy despite ongoing challenges. The fundamentals of our business are strong, and we are well-positioned to meet this sustained appetite for both leisure and business travel across our network.

 

Our focus remains firmly on laying the foundations for future growth. We are prioritising investment in AI-driven technologies, enhancing our processes through greater digitisation and continuing to develop our people, while keeping our customers at the centre of everything we do.

 

This year, we launched our Executive Management Programme and Management Training Programme to ensure our leaders are future-ready. We are also significantly expanding our training portfolio, including our Cadet Programmes for pilots, engineers and dispatchers, to build a strong pipeline of talent that will support our long-term growth. This is further strengthened by our Flight Training centre, now equipped with four full-flight simulators, giving us greater control and flexibility over training schedules for our pilots, and potentially other airlines in the future. We are looking forward to inaugurating our new Aircraft Maintenance Centre at Dubai South, which is set to complete construction in the last quarter of 2026. The multimillion-dollar facility will ensure an increased level of control and a faster maintenance turnaround for the carrier’s growing fleet.

 

We expect to take delivery of 12 aircraft in 2026, subject to manufacturer schedules. Seven of these will be Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, increasing our Business Class capacity, and five will be Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. These fuel-efficient aircraft support both our growth ambitions and our sustainability commitments. We will also add frequencies across selected routes and continue to evaluate new growth opportunities, including the launch of Bangkok later this year, which will mark an important gateway into Southeast Asia.

 

None of this would be possible without the dedication and professionalism of our people. Their continued focus on operational efficiency, innovation, on-time performance and customer excellence positions us strongly for the year ahead and reinforces our confidence in flydubai’s continued trajectory of sustainable growth.”

Tags: Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum,  flydubai