Flydubai expands its footprint in Moscow

KUWAIT: Dubai-based flydubai yesterday announced the start of its new daily flights to Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) from 29 November. This will increase the airline’s frequency to the Russian capital to double daily with the existing service to Vnukovo International Airport (VKO).

Flydubai first started operating to Moscow in 2014 and has grown its network in Russia to 11 unique points. Makhachkala, Ufa and Voronezh being the latest additions with operations commencing in October 2017. Along with these newest points on flydubai’s network the airline operates direct flights to Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow (VKO), Rostov-on-Don, Samara and Yekaterinburg.

Commenting on the launch, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said: “We are excited to be offering our passengers more options to access two different points of the Russian capital. The launch of our new daily flights to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport is based on the increase in demand for more affordable and reliable direct links to the UAE and beyond.”

The airline, which recorded a 45 percent growth in passenger numbers to Russia in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016 and is the first carrier to operate direct flights to Sheremetyevo International Airport from the UAE. The airport is one of the three airports serving the city of Moscow, along with Domodedovo International Airport and Vnukovo International Airport, and is one of the largest airports in Russia.

Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial (UAE, EU, ME, CIS) for flydubai, said: “Russia continues to be a very important market for flydubai. We have been committed to opening up underserved markets and adding frequency based on demand across our network. Our commitment is demonstrated by the increase of our operations to 11 points and 47 weekly flights to the Russian market. We are also looking forward to increasing our frequency to 52 weekly flights from mid-December which provide our passenger with more convenient timings and options for travel to and from Dubai.”

Flydubai operates flights to more than 95 destinations in 44 countries offering passengers from Russia greater opportunity to connect onwards on the flydubai network to popular routes like Male (Maldives), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Zanzibar (Tanzania) via Dubai’s aviation hub. Business Class and WiFi are available on flydubai’s flights to Russia.

Early this year, the UAE Cabinet granted citizens of the Russian Federation entry visa on arrival valid for 30 days for the first time, renewable one time only for another 30 days, which has contributed to the increase in passenger numbers from Russia as per Dubai Airports reports.

Flight details

Flights between Dubai (DXB) and Sheremetyevo (SVO) will start on 29 November 2017 with flights on sale from 25 October. flydubai’s FZ 917/918 will operate daily between Dubai International, Terminal 2 and Sheremetyevo International Airport.