DUBAI-based carrier flydubai has reached a new milestone and celebrates carrying more than 70 million passengers since its start of operations in 2009.
10 years ago, flydubai’s first flight took off from Dubai International bound for Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, on June 1, 2009, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of aviation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In celebration of its 10th Anniversary, a special flight took off from Dubai International on June 1, 2019 at 12:20 local time and was met with a celebratory water cannon salute upon arrival in Beirut. On board were passengers who had flown on flydubai’s first flight who reminisced about the inaugural flight which paved the way for a new way of travel from Dubai to the region.
Commenting on the 10th anniversary of the start of flydubai’s operations, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of flydubai, said: “For many years the Government of Dubai recognised the need for another carrier to serve our country. In 2009, we were able to achieve this thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.”
“flydubai was launched with a mandate to open new markets and make travel more accessible to more people. I am happy to see flydubai deliver on that commitment which has seen the airline connect 71 previously underserved cities to Dubai allowing a population of 1.5 billion easier access to one of the world’s leading aviation hubs.
“Celebrating flydubai’s 10th anniversary, I am pleased to see the airline become another Dubai success story and look forward to their continued success in the years to come. I would like to thank all those who have worked tremendously hard to enable the airline to deliver this wonderful team effort,” added Sheikh Ahmed.
flydubai has grown its operations from six aircraft operating out of Terminal 2 at Dubai International (DXB) in 2009, to operating more than 1,700 weekly flights from its home base in Terminal 2 with flights to select destinations operating out of Terminal 3 (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC).
Since commencing operations, flydubai has created a network of more than 90 destinations in 47 countries across Africa (12 points), Central Asia and the Caucasus (10 points), Europe (28 points), the GCC and the Middle East (26 points) and the Indian Subcontinent (18 points).
More than 70 million passengers have chosen to flydubai since it launched and there have been a number of milestones since its inception in 2009: from introducing Inflight Entertainment in 2010 to Business Class in 2013, placing three aircraft orders and most recently announcing an extensive codeshare partnership with Emirates.