FlyDubai profit drops sharply in year of deadly accident
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Discount airline FlyDubai says its profit tumbled by 69 percent last year despite a rise in sales fueled by its growing operations.
The Dubai-based airline said on Wednesday that it earned 31.6 million dirhams ($8.6 million) last year, compared with 100.7 million dirhams in 2015. Revenue increased just over 2 percent, to $5 billion.
FlyDubai is still recovering from its worst accident in March 2016, when a 737-800 crashed in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all 62 people on board.
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The carrier says passenger numbers rose more than 14 percent, to 10.4 million last year as it expanded its fleet to 57 planes.
But CEO Ghaith al-Ghaith says the airline continues to face a "difficult pricing and operating environment."