Flydubai expands Turkish service

Two seasonal routes to Turkey have been added to flydubai’s network, increasing the number of destinations served by the LCC this summer to 78.

The airline, which already operates from Dubai (DXB) to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW), will also fly to Milas-Bodrum Airport (BJV) and Trabzon Airport (TZX). Emirates will codeshare on the two new routes.

Flights to Bodrum, the main gateway to the Turkish Riviera, will be 2X-weekly from June 4 until Sept. 1. Trabzon, a popular city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey, will be served with three flights per week from May 13 until Sept. 1.

“We have steadily grown our network to more than 75 destinations and we will continue to launch flights to more destinations in the region as restrictions ease,” flydubai SVP commercial operations and e-commerce Jeyhun Efendi said.

The network additions mean flydubai plans to fly to 78 points this summer. Other new destinations include Albanian capital Tirana (TIA), while flights to Eritrea’s capital Asmara (ASM) resumed on April 15.

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Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that flydubai will be the only operator of nonstop scheduled flights from Dubai to Bodrum and Trabzon.

However, Air Arabia plans to resume Sharjah (SHJ)-TZX from May 6, operating 4X-weekly using Airbus A320 aircraft through Sept. 2. Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines is also entering the SHJ-TZX market this summer, providing a weekly flight from May 20 until Oct. 28 on board Boeing 737-800s.

Photo credit: Nigel Howarth / Aviation Week Network

David Casey

David Casey is Editor in Chief of Routes, the global route development community's trusted source for news and information.