Honouring Sharjah as the Guest of Honour at this renowned cultural event also recognises its central role as one of the key World Book Capitals
uae20 hours ago
Budget carrier flydubai on Thursday said it carried more than 130,000 football fans between Dubai and Doha during the Fifa World Cup.
The Dubai-based carrier operated 1,300 flights between Dubai World Central (DWC) and Doha International Airport (DIA) between November 21 and December 19.
Fydubai operated up to 30 daily flights specifically for Fifa World Cup fans, with a shuttle flight departing every 30 minutes during peak travel periods of the day. These flights were operated by seven of the carrier’s Boeing 737 aircraft which were temporarily deployed at DWC for the duration of the tournament.
Passengers from as many as 171 countries travelled to Doha on the Match Day Shuttle flights operated by flydubai. The top 10 nationalities in terms of the number of passengers were the UK, India, UAE, France, Argentina, US, Morocco, Jordan, Canada and Brazil, who made up to 60 per cent of the overall number of passengers travelling on these shuttle flights.
Overall, around half of the passengers were residents, and the remaining 50 per cent were foreign travellers who flew down to watch World Cup.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai, said, on average, there was a delay of just two minutes at Dubai and Doha airports during the shuttle flights.
“We were the only carrier which had a link with Qatar’s Hayya system, which enabled the airline to have authentic information about the passenger around 48 hours before the flight. Around 75 per cent of passengers who flew with us had prechecked/preapproved. This made travel seamless for people to fly,” he added.
“We planned the load factor to be 50 per cent, but we achieved close to 60 per cent. The more important part is having the honour of carrying so many people and operating with a such high level of accuracy,” he added.
In a media briefing on Thursday, Al Ghaith further revealed that several people travelled more than once, and some of them even four times.
Flydubai operated the second-highest number of flights after Qatar Airways for the Fifa World Cup. “In terms of contribution towards the airline’s bottom line and financial gain, it was negligible,” he said.
“These shuttle flights enabled more football fans to travel and enjoy the excitement of the tournament with ease and convenience. Never before [have] there been up to 30 daily return flights between two countries in the region, and this shows the high level of commitment, efficiency and [the] collaborative approach required to successfully deliver this task,” said Al Ghaith.
ALSO READ:
Honouring Sharjah as the Guest of Honour at this renowned cultural event also recognises its central role as one of the key World Book Capitals
uae20 hours ago
The founder and chairman of conglomerate Al Habtoor Group said they’re in touch with the authorities in Lebanon to support the young victims
uae20 hours ago
The participants will be attending educational sessions that will be held three days a week
uae22 hours ago
This unprecedented move allows guests more time to enjoy the diverse entertainment, cultural experiences, and shopping delights
uae22 hours ago
The emirate is home to scores of family-friendly entertainment parks, and more are in the pipeline
uae22 hours ago
Special attention is directed towards controlling mosquitoes in stagnant water, ministry says
uae1 day ago
They were chauffeured in Ferrari and Bentley cars and got to dance to their heart's content in a private yacht party
uae1 day ago
Most residents could expect a fair to partly cloudy day ahead
uae1 day ago