Flydubai, will launch its daily flights from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport from June 3. The airline would be the first international carrier to have daily frequency from MRIA. This service is in addition to their current daily flights to Colombo.
Initially, the airline will operate a three times weekly frequency to MRIA, starting from May 2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and would extend it to a daily flight from June.
The airline currently operates daily flights to Colombo. From June, the MRIA bound flight would also make a stop over in Colombo, thus making Dubai’s innovative low-cost airline, flydubai having two flights taking off from Colombo each day.
flydubai’s Chief Commercial Officer, Hamad Obaidalla, who headed the delegation to the newly inaugurated airport, said, “The additional flights are in direct response to strong passenger demand across our network and we are delighted to contribute to the successful developments in the trade and tourism sectors taking place in the eastern and southern part of the island. We are impressed by the facilities at the new airport and are certainly excited about the opportunities that these new flights would generate to Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.”
More than 30% of flydubai’s total passenger traffic to Sri Lanka in 2012, was connecting traffic from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)regions. This growth is a result of the carrier’s improved connection times in Dubai.
The additional flights this summer, will further cement the carrier’s commitment to the market and significantly contribute to further growth. flydubai has the most comprehensive network to the CIS and CEE than any other Middle Eastern carrier which connects Colombo and once it commence operations to Hambantota, it would cover up to 21 destinations in 10 countries.
The network has witnessed a milestone expansion with the carrier recently announcing its plans to double its Russian and Ukrainian network by adding four destinations in Russia, two in Ukraine and doubling the frequency to Kiev daily. These new routes bring the carrier’s network to more than 60 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, CEE and the CIS. “We would like to thank the authorities for their ongoing support and we hope more people will be able to benefit from our excellent services and affordable fares to visit this beautiful country,” added Obaidalla.
Established in March 2008, flydubai is the fastest growing start-up airline in the world. Since commencing operations in June 2009, the airline has established an operational route network of more than 60 destinations and has a fleet of 28 aircraft.
Owned by the Government of Dubai, flydubai Cargo started operations on January 1, 2012 and operates within the flydubai passenger network as well as to offline stations.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2013/04/22/bus01.asp