Flydubai, Dubai’s first low cost airline, added a second African destination to its network with its inaugural flight to Djibouti Ambouli International Airport.

The new service will operate three times per week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

One way fares to Djibouti from Dubai will start from Dh650, including all taxes and one piece of hand baggage weighing up to 10 kg.

“One of the reasons flydubai was set up was to operate to second tier cities that are currently underserved by airlines flying out of Dubai. While these cities may not be large enough markets for the bigger airlines, there is still a significant amount of traffic from these markets and we believe they will be important and profitable routes for flydubai,' stated Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai.

“Djibouti has long established commercial links with Dubai, including DP World, which operates the Port of Djibouti.'

“As one of the very few airlines to offer direct flights to this relatively small destination, we anticipate strong demand from both the business and leisure markets.'

With a population of just half a million people, Djibouti is roughly half the size of Abu Dhabi, with a land mass of 23,000 sq km encompassing desert, highlands and plateaus. Djibouti is a republic which was formed in 1977, when the country gained independence from France. The national languages are Arabic and French.

Bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, Djibouti has a long history as a trading port and is strategically located on the Gulf of Aden.

Djibouti is flydubai’s second African destination after Alexandria and the sixth destination on the network, which also includes Beirut, Amman, Damascus and Aleppo.

flydubai operates from Terminal 2 on the north side of Dubai International Airport.-TradeArabia News Service