Flydubai expands its operations to Romania

Flydubai on Sunday announced the new dates for the launch of flights to Cluj-Napoca in Romania. The airline will operate twice-weekly flights between Dubai International (DXB) and Avram Iancu International Airport Cluj (CLJ) starting from November 3, 2021.

The Dubai-based airline operates a daily service between Dubai International (DXB) and Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP), the service will increase to a double daily operation from November. With the start of flights to Cluj-Napoca in November, the carrier will serve the Romanian market with a total of 16 weekly flights.

“We first started operating to Bucharest with four flights a week in 2012. Since then, flydubai has more than tripled its operations to the market as demand has grown for commercial and cargo traffic between Romania and the UAE," Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said.

"We are excited to offer more options for convenient direct airlinks to the market with the start of our flights to Cluj-Napoca and we look forward to further stimulating travel and trade flows in both directions,” he said.

Cluj-Napoca is the second largest city in Romania with one of the most dynamic economies in the country and is the largest centre for innovation and business opportunities in Transylvania. Avram Iancu International Airport Cluj (CLJ) is considered an important gateway to the north-western region of Romania. Located 10 kilometres east from Cluj-Napoca’s city centre, the airport is close to the most important attractions of the city; also known as “The heart of Transylvania.”

Jeyhun Efendi, senior vice-president, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said the airline's new service will offer more than 3.5 million people, living within few hours drive from the airport, the convenience of direct airlinks to Dubai. "There is also the opportunity for passengers to connect travel beyond on our network to popular destinations like Malé and Zanzibar," he said.

He said the twice-weekly service will also benefit the Romanian expatriate population in the UAE to travel home more easily and offers passengers from the market a more convenient option to visit Dubai during the anticipated Expo 2020 Dubai.

Cluj-Napoca is strategically located and borders Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine allowing passengers from these markets to take advantage of flydubai’s direct airlinks to Dubai and its aviation hub.

Cluj-Napoca, considered to be the unofficial capital of the historic region of Transylvania, is a vibrant cultural and educational city. Home to a large number of castles, fortresses, botanical gardens, museums and parks, Cluj-Napoca offers passengers from the UAE and the region a perfect holiday destination with a pleasant climate and an array of attractions to enjoy.

Emirates will codeshare on this route offering travellers more seamless connections through Dubai’s international aviation hub to 100 destinations between both the Emirates and flydubai networks including Australia, China, Indian Ocean, Japan, South Asia and the United States.

Passengers booking a flydubai flight to Dubai will enjoy a complimentary 1-Day Ticket to visit Expo 2020 Dubai, taking place from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. The initiative is valid for all bookings made from 01 September for travel during the event dates.

Flydubai continues to roll-out WiFi across its fleet enabling passengers to stay connected during their flight and can browse the web, send emails, use social networks and get the latest news.

Flydubai’s passenger experience has been redesigned to enable travel in a safe environment that minimises crew and passenger contact and offers passengers confidence to travel at every step of their journey. The airline offers a complimentary global Covid-19 cover to offer passengers greater peace of mind when travelling.

Passengers are required to make sure that they are up to date with the regulations from the Iata Travel Centre for their whole journey, and follow the guidance issued by the authorities and the airline.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com