Flydubai heads to the Maldives while there is no place like home

The airline’s CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith was joined at a press conference by Laila Suhail, CEO, Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE); Hamad Bin Mejren, Executive Director, Business Tourism, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Anita Mehra, Vice President – Marketing & Corporate Communications, Dubai Airports to highlight the incredible passenger growth recorded from Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) plus the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and GCC markets.

The latest figures from Dubai International Airport reveal that passenger traffic from the CIS and Russia increased by 34% in Q3 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, in large part due to flydubai’s on-going expansion in this region.

Mehra,said: “flydubai’s growth, particularly within Russia and the CIS, has provided a tremendous boost to passenger traffic through linking Dubai to many cities in this region for the first time. The airline has played a key part in ensuring that passenger traffic at Dubai International is likely to have surpassed the projected target of 56.5 million passengers for the year as the world’s fourth busiest hub for international passengers achieved another month of double digit growth last November.”

Arabian Aerospace magazine reported this month that more than 40% of flydubai’s route development in 2012 concentrated on CEE and CIS cementing the airline’s commitment to expansion and connectivity. The airline now operates to 16 destinations in the region including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

DEPE’s  Suhail, said: “Dubai has established itself as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, offering visitors a variety of attractions and experiences including shopping offers, family entertainment, cultural events, international sport tournaments, music festivals, and much more. The emergence of Dubai as a global landmark of excellence in tourism and events was recognized when it was awarded twice in a row as the ‘World Festival and Event City 2011 and 2012’ by the International Festivals and Events Association. This recognition came as a result to the close partnerships we have with the private sector to ensure that Dubai offers tourists from around the world the best holiday experience by creating a premier platform for all that makes their holiday in Dubai a memorable one.”