Flydubai, Dubai’s first low cost airline, is set to make its entry to India with flights to the Indian city of Lucknow.

The route will mark the airline’s seventh new route announcement in one month and expand its network to 20 destinations.

Flights to the north-east city of Lucknow will operate thrice weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from June 2.

“India represents an important market for flydubai and we are delighted that the cooperation between flydubai and the Indian authorities has resulted in the opportunity for Dubai’s first low cost airline to bring our simple, uncomplicated, quality low fare service to Lucknow,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai.

“We hope to continue to work closely with the Indian authorities to the benefit of both our countries and in time expand our operations to serve more Indian cities which are currently underserved by direct links to the UAE,” he added.

“An estimated five million Indian expatriates live and work in Gulf, with around one million in the UAE alone. This represents a huge number of people who need to travel between our two nations and we look forward to complementing the services offered by the existing carriers on the Dubai-India routes,” Al Ghaith continued.

“Lucknow is known as the Golden City of the East, and we certainly regard the city as a golden opportunity to strengthen the business, leisure and economic ties between India and the UAE.”

Al Ghaith added: “Flydubai is responding to a shortage of direct international flights to Lucknow. India is an extremely important market for us and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership.” – TradeArabia News Service