Business
Air Arabia plans to double fleet expansion in a year
Air Arabia has revealed its plans to double its current fleet capacity within the next 12 months, in a step that aims to support Abu Dhabi’s leisure and business tourism market and its growing aviation needs.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, said, “Tourism is one of the key pillars of the UAE economy. Abu Dhabi is an Emirate with solid destination appeal and our enhanced fleet size will continue to support the current robust inbound tourism, in line with the Emirate’s long-term vision of growing regional and global visitor numbers.”
“In 2022, a record 15.9 million guests travelled through Abu Dhabi, nearly threefold the number of visitors in 2021 at 5.26 million. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, which complements Etihad Airways’ services from the UAE capital, is contributing to this remarkable growth by catering to the growing low-cost travel market segment in the region,” Al Ali added, highlighting Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s contribution to the capital’s tourism growth.
Air Arabia is bullish on their growth plans for Abu Dhabi and the outlook for aviation generally for 2023.
“Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is supporting the UAE capital’s growing prominence as a global tourism and business hub. Doubling the fleet strength will be crucial to meet growing passenger demand for low-cost travel as the city records a new wave of growth in tourism, driven by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Strategy 2030, which aims to attract 23 million tourists annually by 2030.”
Sharing his expectations for the travel and aviation sector at the regional and global levels, Al Ali noted that “despite the continued economic challenges and geopolitical concerns, 2023 continues to be an extraordinary year for the airline industry. It marked the return of the global aviation industry to near normality as travel restrictions eased, leading to strong passenger demand for air travel.”
“The industry is now recovering from its supply chain challenges and the pent-up demand for travel worldwide is continuing to drive growth,” he said in conclusion.
- WAM
Announcements
UAE’s first-ever Woman Grandmaster Rouda Essa Alserkal to play the Norway Chess Open 2025
In a bid to encourage chess players in the Middle East and provide a platform at the global stage, the organisers of Norway Chess – one of the most prestigious tournaments in the FIDE chess calendar – has invited Emirate’s first-ever female grandmaster Rouda Essa Alserkal to participate in the Norway Chess Open 2025 which will see participation from 31 countries.
The 15-year-old Rouda was formally presented with the invitation by Kjell Madland, Managing Director and visionary behind Norway Chess, today at a press event in Seven Seas Hotel in Dubai. Also present at the grand occasion was Dr Mansoor Al Tamimi, Vice Technical Committee Chair, the Technical Director from the Abu Dhabi Chess Club and Mind Games. Koneru Humpy, two-time women’s world rapid chess champion, also joined virtually and wished Rouda ahead of her upcoming events.
Kjell Madland, Managing Director of Norway Chess, presents the official invitation to participate in the Norway Chess Open 2025 to Rouda Al Serkal, the UAE’s first Woman Grandmaster, as Benedicte Westre Skog, COO of Norway Chess, looks on during the official press conference held at the Seven Seas Hotel in Dubai on Wednesday. Photo Credit: Joy Dasgupta/Norway chess
The Norway Chess Open 2025 will be held from May 26 to June 1 at the IMI Forum in Stavanger, attracting both grandmasters and ambitious chess players seeking title norms and valuable competitive experience. With previous participants like reigning World Champion Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa, and Vaishali, who participated in the Norway Chess Open as budding players before their meteoric rise in the sport, has established itself as an essential arena for players seeking high-level competition.
Speaking about providing this unique opportunity for Rouda, Kjell Madland expressed, “Norway Chess is delighted to invite Rouda Essa Alserkal to participate in this year’s Norway Chess Open 2025. I congratulate Rouda on the remarkable feat to become the first woman Chess Grandmaster from the UAE and she stands tall as an inspiration for women in this region to achieve. The Norway Chess Open provides a great opportunity for Grandmasters and chess players to hone their skills and gain competitive exposure. We hope to find and encourage many future chess stars from the Middle East to play in the Norway Chess Open.”
Madland further highlighted the importance of growing chess as a competitive sport in the Middle East and expressed interest in creating further synergies with potential partners in the UAE. “We are exploring the possibility of hosting Norway Chess tournament in the Middle East and potential partners are welcome to connect with us. We are also working to broadcast Norway Chess live to the fans in the Middle East,” he said.
In the Norway Chess Open category, leading the list of participants is Rinat Jumbayev (KAZ), followed by strong contenders such as Gergely Kantor (HUN), Valentin Dragnev (AUT), Vitaly Kunin (GER), Norwegian Frode Urkedal (NOR), and Chinese grandmaster Jiner Zhu (CHN).
Expressing her excitement to participate in the Norway Chess Open 2025, Rouda said, “I am looking forward to the competition as I know Norway Chess is the strongest grooming ground for future chess superstars. When I first heard that I am getting invited for the Norway Chess Open, I could not believe it and I was so thrilled, I told my coach immediately – that I need to start preparing. This is the most prestigious tournament in the world and I am sure this experience will help me improve my game further.”
“I am also greatly looking forward to meet Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, also some of the Indian players like the new World Champion Gukesh who will be participating in the Norway Chess 2025,” she added.
The Norway Chess Open features double rounds on Thursday, May 29, and Friday, May 30, providing excellent opportunities for title norms in the top group. In the Grandmaster Group, which Rouda has been invited to participate, will have nine rounds, opportunity for title norms and a prize fund of €13,000.
Please see attached images from the event.
About Norway Chess 2025:
The Norway Chess Open is held simultaneously along with the marquee Norway Chess 2025 which will see a star-studded line-up featuring world no.1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Gukesh D (India), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Arjun Erigaisi (India), and Wei Yi (China) among the men while the Norway Chess Women will feature Ju Wenjun (China), Lei Tingjie (China), Humpy Koneru (India), Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), Vaishali Rameshbabu (India), and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Spain).
Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women, feature the same format, same prize money, and take place in the same playing hall. Both tournaments follow a 6-player double round-robin format.
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