flydubai celebrates its rapid expansion in East Africa with two inaugural flights to Tanzania

• The new routes further underline flydubai’s rapid expansion in Africa.

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - Dubai-based flydubai’s inaugural flights to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar touched down in Tanzania. The new routes further underline flydubai’s rapid expansion in Africa, which has seen the carrier’s network double to 12 destinations this year.

flydubai entered the market in 2009 with flights to Djibouti, and in 2011 Addis Ababa became flydubai’s second East African destination. In 2014, flydubai added six new routes to the continent with the start of flights to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and three destinations in Tanzania.

Commenting on the start of flights to Tanzania, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said: “The United Arab Emirates has recognised the immense potential in the emerging markets of East Africa, like Tanzania. We continue to work diligently to support the travel, trade and tourism objectives by strengthening the direct links between the UAE and these African markets.”

The flydubai delegation led by Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa), was met with inaugural events held at Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar airports on 22 October 2014. Among the senior officials who met the inaugural flights were HE Janet Z. Mbene (MP), Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, HE Dr Omary Mjenga, Consul General to the UAE and HE Samia Hassan Suluhu, Minister of State.

“The pace of flydubai’s expansion in East Africa has picked up. Six of the 23 new routes we have launched this year are to Africa. The potential we see for this market is just the tip of the iceberg as it is still a heavily underserved region. We are very excited about our new flights to Tanzania, which are going to be very popular for our passengers whether for leisure or business,” commented Sreedharan.

Tanzania has emerged as a noteworthy trade partner for Dubai recently and ranked among the major non-oil trade partners in Africa last year topping USD 1.86 billion in total annual trade, according to recent figures from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

flydubai started operating its new Boeing 737-800 fleet configured with Business Class on its Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar flights from 16 October 2014, providing passengers between Tanzania and UAE with a more convenient, high-quality and reliable service with the option to connect onwards through Dubai’s aviation hub.

In addition to its three routes in Tanzania, flydubai has built up a comprehensive network in Africa with flights to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Alexandria in Egypt, Khartoum and Port Sudan in Sudan, Djibouti’s capital Djibouti, Juba in South Sudan as well as Bujumbura in Burundi, Entebbe in Uganda and Kigali in Rwanda.

Dar es Salaam
flydubai will operate daily flights between Dar es Salaam and Dubai starting from 16 October 2014.
FZ670 is scheduled to depart Julius Nyerere International Airport at 12:20hrs local time, landing at Dubai International Terminal 2 at 18:55hrs local time.
FZ672/674 is scheduled to depart Julius Nyerere International Airport at 18:20hrs local time, landing at Dubai International Terminal 2 at 01:00hrs local time.
FZ669/671/673 is scheduled to depart Dubai International Terminal 2 at 06:40hrs local time, arriving into Julius Nyerere International Airport at 11:20hrs local time.

Kilimanjaro via Dar Es Salaam
flydubai will operate two flights a week between Kilimanjaro and Dubai via Dar Es Salaam starting from 17 October 2014.
Mondays and Fridays:
FZ674 is scheduled to depart Kilimanjaro International Airport at 16:10hrs local time, landing at Dubai International Terminal 2 at 01:00hrs local time with a one-hour stopover in Dar es Salaam.
FZ673 is scheduled to depart Dubai International Terminal 2 at 06:40hrs local time, arriving into Kilimanjaro International Airport at 13:25hrs local time with a one-hour stopover in Dar es Salaam.

Zanzibar via Dar Es Salaam
flydubai will operate two flights a week between Zanzibar and Dubai via Dar Es Salaam starting from 19 October 2014.
Wednesdays and Sundays: FZ672 is scheduled to depart Zanzibar Airport at 15:40hrs local time, landing at Dubai International Terminal 2 at 01:00hrs local time with a one-hour stopover in Dar Es Salaam.
FZ671 is scheduled to depart Dubai International Terminal 2 at 06:40hrs local time, arriving into Zanzibar Airport at 13:05hrs local time with a one-hour stopover in Dar es Salaam.
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