After weathering the storm of the global pandemic, flydubai is increasing its network to its biggest capacity yet. The low-cost airline has announced it will introduce flights from Dubai to several new cities in 2023.
Among the five new destinations are Milan, the second-largest city in Italy and Cagliari — the capital of Sardinia. Travellers will also soon be able to fly with the budget airline direct to the Greek island of Corfu.
Milan flights are scheduled to start in March, with fares from Dh2,000, while flights to Sardinia and Corfu will commence in June, just in time for the summer season. Return airfares start from Dh2,600.
Popular Thai holiday hotspots Krabi and Pattaya are also new additions to the flydubai network. The former offers stunning beaches set against limestone cliffs while the latter is known for its lively atmosphere. Daily flights to both destinations in Thailand will launch on January 20, and economy fares start from Dh3,800 and Dh3,600 respectively.
The extension of the network means that flydubai will be operating to 113 places around the world, the most destinations that the airline has flown to.
“I am very proud to see our network grow bigger than ever. Dubai’s aviation industry has made a swift recovery, and our agility combined with our strong business model has enabled us to grow our operations and to achieve this significant milestone,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive at flydubai.
“With 113 destinations now available to book, we look forward to offering our passengers more options for travel across our ever-growing network.”
Flydubai is also resuming flights to Saudi Arabia’s Hofuf, with services taking off later this month and fares starting from Dh1,400.
The city in Al-Ahsa Oasis in the eastern region of the kingdom is filled with historical landmarks and is a good destination for those keen to visit the largest palm oasis in the world. Flights will restart on November 24, with two services per week.
Emirates will codeshare on the airline’s new routes, offering passengers more options for connections through Dubai International Airport. Resumed flights to Saudi Arabia will depart from Terminal 2, while all flights to the airline's new destinations will leave from Emirates' Terminal 3.
Flydubai recently became the first UAE airline to launch flights to Maldives’ Gan International Airport, ideal for holidaymakers flying to the southern atolls in the Indian Ocean holiday hotspot.
Last week, the airline confirmed it was recovering strongly from the coronavirus pandemic and expects 2022's financial results to be better than last year as it expands operations with more routes. In March, Flydubai announced a Dh841 million ($229m) profit in 2021, compared with a Dh712.6m loss in 2020, when the travel industry was hit hard by the pandemic.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
