Alexandria marks the end of a perfect week for flydubai

Dubai's low cost carrier, flydubai, ended a perfect launch week with yet another new route when it touched down in Alexandria, Egypt, completing its first round of operational destinations.

Flight FZ177, which is a daily service, left Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 2 at 18.45 hours and arrived just under four hours later at El Nozha Airport at 21.40 hours local time.

The addition of daily services to Egypt’s second city makes the journey home for thousands of Egyptian expatriate workers in the UAE more affordable and accessible and opens Dubai as an achievable holiday and short break destination for the people of Egypt.

The landing at Alexandria also means that flydubai has accomplished its first round of new routes, which already includes Beirut, Amman and Damascus, in just eight days.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai said that the occasion was a great step forward in travelling to one of Egypt’s most popular tourist locations and also another milestone in flydubai’s short history.

“We are extremely pleased to have Alexandria as our newest destination. The Egyptian expatriates who work in the UAE now have the opportunity to travel home more often and the people of Dubai also now have even more access to Egypt’s cultural and historical treasures,” he said.

“This also signifies another landmark event in flydubai’s early operations and we offer our thanks to the authorities in Egypt who have made this possible,” he added. “From the very beginnings of flydubai as a concept right through to this first round of daily routes, everything has been meticulously planned and we are exactly where we wanted to be. From a standing start to four destinations in just eight days is something we can all be very proud of.”

At the Farnborough Airshow last year, flydubai placed an order for 50 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft, in a deal worth around US$4 billion. Each has a range of over 5,500 kilometres.

The daily 2,500km Alexandria to Dubai flight is timetabled to leave at 22.25 hours local time arriving in Dubai at 03.25 hours.

The airline - part of the Emirates group - says more routes will be announced shortly.

flydubai’s COO, Ken Gile with cabin crew sending off flight FZ-177, the airline’s inaugural service to El Nozha Airport in Alexandria.