Dubai: Dubai carrier flydubai operated 52,129 flights in H1-2023, marking a 34.8 per cent increase compared to the 38,666 flights flown in the same period last year.
The scheduled flights for the first half of 2023 were distributed as follows:
- 8,743 flights in June
- 8,737 flights in May
- 8,674 flights in April
- 9,083 flights in March
- 8,056 flights in February
- 8,836 flights in January
In the first quarter alone (January to March), the airline carried more than 3.37 million passengers, an increase of 50 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.
In an earlier interview with Gulf News, airline CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith had said the carrier plans to ramp up operations for the busy summer travel period between July and September, increasing its capacity by 20 per cent across the network.
“We also expect good inbound traffic to Dubai as our city has long moved away from its seasonal offering to being an attractive year-round destination,” Al Ghaith had said.
flydubai’s fleet, consisting of 79 aircraft, serves more than 120 destinations in 52 countries, of which 75 did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not operated by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.
Nine destinations joined the airline’s network this summer, including Bodrum, Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Santorini and Tivat, and new destinations including Corfu in Greece and Cagliari in Sicily. The carrier also increased flight frequency on several routes, including Krabi, Milan-Bergamo, Pattaya and Pisa.
flydubai grew its network in Italy to five points with the launch of flights to Cagliari on June 22. It will also double its operation to Krabi and Pattaya in Thailand to a double daily service from October 13 this year.
