Fourth Iraq route opened by flydubai

It began its three-times weekly service to Najaf today when the inaugural flight, FZ221, departed Dubai Terminal 2 at 0700hrs, and landed in Najaf International Airport at 0840hrs local time. The return flight, FZ222, departed at 0940hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1250hrs. The flight marks the second new Iraqi destination for flydubai this month, following the start of flights to the capital, Baghdad, 10 days ago.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, flydubai’s CEO, said: “The new service reflects our strategy to link Dubai with underserved airports, making it more convenient for inbound and outbound passengers. At a time when a number of international airlines are looking at opportunities in Iraq, flydubai is leading the way with direct flights to four cities across the country in just 18 months. I am also pleased to report that our first flight today was sold out, which highlights the demand for travel to Najaf.”

The Iraqi Government has allocated $40 billion this year for development projects covering infrastructure, electricity, education and health. Telecoms is another rapidly expanding sector – the first subsea cable was recently installed, paving the way for increased broadband connectivity across the country. The start of flights to Najaf secured flydubai’s position as the UAE airline with the largest Iraqi network, with four points.

In an effort to further boost relations between Iraq and GCC countries such as the UAE, officials are in discussions to host the next Arab Summit in Baghdad this March.

Industry analyst Saj Ahmad said: "Najaf is a cultural and religious centre in Iraq for Shia Muslims and many in the GCC region are taking the opportunity to visit not just because of these reasons, but also the burgeoning trade between Iraq and its Arab neighbours continues to increase.
 
Flydubai is leveraging the city of Dubai's own trade strengths between itself and Iraq, as well as catering for the large Shia community in the UAE. With greater air liberalisation in Iraq and the absence of an Iraqi national carrier, flydubai is uniquely placed to service both leisure and business passengers and it's likely that as their 737-800 fleet increases this year, we will see frequencies increase too.
 
The recent launch of flydubai cargo too, will enable a greater transfer of goods and services between Iraq and the UAE, and with Najaf being second only in importance to Baghdad, the growth of Iraqi infrastructure will definitely support more in the way of both demand, traffic and new competition."
 
The new route brings flydubai’s network to 48 destinations across 27 countries in the GCC, Middle East, Africa, Indian Sub-Continent, Asia, CIS and the fringes of Europe.