Flydubai begins flights to Mattala

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

flydubai, Dubai’s innovative low-cost airline, on Tuesday began flights to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) as part of a thrice-a-week service between Dubai and Hambantota.

Flights to Hambantota is in addition to flydubai’s daily service to Colombo. From 3 June services to MRIA will be made daily as well as per the carrier’s original announcement in March, bringing the capacity to double daily to Sri Lanka.

Flydubai’s FZ551 departs Dubai Terminal 2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 2250hrs, landing in Mattala International Airport at 0635hrs local time following a stop in Colombo at 0555hrs.

The return flight, FZ552, direct to Dubai, departs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0730hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1050hrs local time.

Return fares from Dubai to Hambantota start at AED 995 (around Rs. 34,000) with return fares from Hambantota to Dubai starting at Rs. 31,365.

Fares include one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7kg and one small laptop bag or hand bag. Checked baggage starts at AED 50 ($14) for 20kgs. A seat with extra legroom costs AED100 ($28) extra.

More than 30% of flydubai’s total passenger traffic to Sri Lanka in 2012 was connecting traffic from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) regions. This growth is a result of the carrier’s improved connection times in Dubai.

The additional flights will further cement the carrier’s commitment to the market and significantly contribute to further growth.

flydubai has the most comprehensive network to the CIS and CEE of any other Middle Eastern carrier which connects Sri Lanka to 21 destinations in 10 countries.

The network has witnessed a milestone expansion with the carrier recently announcing it is to double its Russian and Ukrainian network by adding four destinations in Russia, two in Ukraine and increasing the frequency to Kiev to double daily.

These new routes bring the carrier’s network to more than 60 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, CEE and the CIS.