Air Arabia Abu Dhabi plans to boost its operational capacity by 40% in 2025, capitalizing on the gap left by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s decision to cease operations from September.
The airline, a joint venture between Air Arabia and Etihad Airways, says the expansion will support its goal of increasing connectivity from the United Arab Emirates capital. It has already added two Airbus A320 aircraft—bringing the total fleet to 12—and intends to induct two more before the end of the year.
“This growth supports the rising demand for air travel to and from Abu Dhabi,” Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Al Ali says. “The planned capacity increase in 2025 will further contribute to the capital’s broader economic and tourism vision while continuing to offer value-driven air travel to our customers.”
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi currently operates 203 weekly flights to 28 destinations, offering 34,962 weekly departure seats from Zayed International Airport (AUH). The LCC holds a 9.1% share of seat capacity at AUH, slightly ahead of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s 9%, with Etihad Airways dominating at 63.7%.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi currently compete on seven routes: Alexandria in Egypt; Amman in Jordan; Beirut in Lebanon; Baku in Azerbaijan; Salalah in Oman; Almaty in Kazakhstan; and Yerevan in Armenia.
Wizz Air’s exit from AUH—announced on July 14—marks the end of a four-year effort to build a low-cost hub in the Gulf. The carrier cited supply chain constraints, regional instability and limited market access as reasons for its withdrawal. The move may also have implications for the Hungarian ULCC’s long-term fleet strategy, as its A321XLRs were originally intended to support Middle East expansion.
As reported by Aviation Week in June, CEO József Váradi indicated that Wizz Air may not take delivery of all 47 A321XLRs currently on order. “We have conversion option over the entire XLR order for A321neos—and this is something we are looking at,” he said.
“The XLR must be almost disproportionately profitable in order to offset the hot-and-harsh cost exposure ... Maybe our conclusion is going to be that 47 XLRs is far too many, and we will have to scale back on that.”
Alongside Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s planned expansion, Etihad Airways is also moving quickly to fill the capacity vacuum. The carrier has announced seven new routes launching between November 2025 and March 2026, many of which—including Almaty, Baku, Bucharest, Medina, Tashkent and Yerevan—overlap with Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s former network.
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