Dubai-based flydubai has announced the addition of three destinations to its Russian network, bringing its presence in the country to ten points. This autumn, the airline will launch flights to Makhachkala and Voronezh and resume services to Ufa.
Flights from Dubai to Makhachkala and Voronezh will operate twice a week, starting 31 October 2017 and 29 October 2017, respectively. Services to Ufa will relaunch on 31 October 2017 with three flights a week. flydubai will be the only UAE-based carrier offering direct air links on these routes.
Commenting on the launch, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said: “Russia has been a key part of flydubai’s network since an early stage in our operations. We entered the market in 2010 and focused on markets that were previously underserved from Dubai. Russian passengers recognise the benefits of direct air links and together with our product offering have helped us to successfully grow our service across the country. Today, we are pleased to further expand our footprint as we see a growing demand for travel from Russia to Dubai.”
Along with the new additions, flydubai’s network in Russia includes Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Samara and Yekaterinburg.
Travel between Russia and Dubai has been recently benefited from changes in visa requirements enabling Russian passengers to automatically receive a free 30-day Visa on Arrival in the UAE. This regulation prompted a 140% growth in travel numbers from Russia to Dubai within the first month since its introduction in February 2017, according to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
