Adel Al Ali

Adel Abdulla Ali is a Bahraini aviation executive resident in the UAE who founded Air Arabia in October 2003 as the Middle East and North Africa's first low-cost carrier and the Arab world's first publicly owned airline, and has been its Group Chief Executive Officer ever since, after earlier careers at British Airways and Gulf Air; under him the group reported a record net profit before tax of Dhs1.6 billion in 2024. ^{1 2}

Ali is Bahraini by origin and resident in the United Arab Emirates. ² The institutional biographies record no birth date for him, and the museum records none. Before founding Air Arabia he spent years with two established carriers, British Airways — where he reached general manager level for the Middle East and Africa — and Gulf Air, where he was vice president for commercial and customer services. ¹

In October 2003 Ali set up Air Arabia in Sharjah, the Middle East and North Africa's first low-cost carrier, opening a market niche few had suspected existed; he drove its growth into the largest low-cost carrier in the MENA region and the first publicly owned airline in the Arab world. ¹ Under his leadership the group reported a record net profit before tax of Dhs1.6 billion in 2024, with a fleet of 81 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft serving over 220 destinations, as Gulf Business states them. ² Alongside the group chief-executive role he chairs Sharjah Information Systems Associates, Alpha Sharjah Catering, Alpha Aviation Academy and Cozmo Travel, and sits on the boards of Air Arabia (Maroc) and Air Arabia (Egypt). ¹ Since 2007 he has been named Airline CEO of the Year by various industry forums for five consecutive years, was named the world's best low-cost carrier CEO at the World LCC Congress in 2008, entered the Middle East aviation Hall of Fame in 2010, and won the Airline Business Award at the Airline Strategy Awards in July 2014. ¹

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