The highest in the carrier’s history: 2.6 billion dirhams in Etihad Airways’ profits in 2025

Abu Dhabi, February 24 / WAM / Etihad Airways announced today the strongest financial and operational performance in its history in its annual results for the year 2025, marking its fourth consecutive year of profitability.

According to a press release issued today, the carrier achieved profits amounting to 2.6 billion dirhams after calculating tax (698 million dollars), with a growth of 47% on an annual basis, while the profit margin improved to 8.4%, which is more than double the average net profit margin in the global aviation sector of 3.9%, according to estimates of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued in December 2025.

Etihad Airways carried 22.4 million passengers during 2025, achieving exceptional growth in operational capacity by 21% year-on-year, with available seat capacity per kilometer reaching 111.5 billion.

Total revenues increased by 21% year-on-year to reach 30.7 billion dirhams ($8.4 billion), driven by strong expansion in the passenger and cargo sectors.

Passenger revenues increased by 24% year-on-year to reach 25.8 billion dirhams, while freight revenues increased by 8% to reach 4.5 billion dirhams.

Operational performance witnessed a significant improvement, as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased by 37% year-on-year to reach AED 6.3 billion ($1.7 billion), with a margin of 20% (+2 percentage points year-on-year).

Operating cash flow amounted to approximately 8.0 billion dirhams, which enabled the Union to finance the entire capital expenditure requirements for the year, while continuing to reduce financial leverage on the balance sheet.

In international recognition of the solidity of the group’s financial performance and the soundness of its strategic path, in December 2025, Etihad obtained a second successive upgrade in its credit rating from Fitch to AA-, thus topping the highest public credit rating among airlines in the world.

Antonaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “2025 was a landmark year for Etihad, as we achieved our strongest performance ever across all key indicators, and recorded our fourth consecutive year of profitability.

Etihad continued to enhance direct and transit passenger traffic through Abu Dhabi during the year 2025, as passenger traffic recorded a growth of 900,000 passengers on an annual basis, rising from 4.6 million passengers in 2024 to 5.5 million passengers. The stopover program offered by the carrier also witnessed an exceptional turnout, attracting 170,000 visitors, more than double the number recorded in 2024, which was 80,000 visitors.

His Excellency Muhammad Ali Al-Shurafa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Etihad Airways, said that the record performance achieved by Etihad Airways in 2025 reflects the strength of its long-term strategy, and the quality of performance provided by the leadership team and the company’s employees.

The growth of Etihad Airways in 2025 contributed approximately 50% of the total growth in the number of passengers in the UAE, according to the expected performance of air traffic at the country level, which confirms the company’s pivotal role in supporting the tourism and trade sectors and the broader economic ambitions of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

This contribution was driven by the largest expansion in the history of Etihad Airways, as 29 aircraft were added to the fleet during the year, bringing the operational fleet to 127 aircraft.

Etihad expanded its network from 94 to 110 destinations, including seasonal and freight destinations, in addition to the destinations scheduled to begin operating during the next 12 months, excluding charter flight destinations, while the total landing flights increased from 90,000 to more than 105,000 flights.

During 2025, the company welcomed more than 3,200 new employees and promoted about 2,200 employees across various levels.

Attracting talent on the front lines topped the list of priorities, as about 1,600 cabin crew members and approximately 400 pilots joined the union during the year 2025, and about 1,500 cabin crew members and approximately 150 pilots were promoted during the year.

During the year 2025, the Union’s workforce embraced competencies from 152 nationalities.

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