Dubai's first low cost airline flydubai said it is set to launch flights to Erbil, capital of Kurdish region of northern Iraq, starting from July 16. Iraq's third largest city, Erbil is the carrier's 22nd destination.

Flydubai said it will fly twice a week - on Fridays and Mondays - to the Iraqi city and has priced the one-way fare at $315, a company statement said.

Flights to Dubai will operate twice a week on Fridays and Mondays. Flight FZ202 will leave Erbil on Fridays at 09.15pm, arriving in Dubai at 12.55am local time. The flight FZ201 will depart from Dubai at 06.30pm, landing in Erbil at 08.30pm local time.

On Mondays, FZ202 will depart from Erbil at 02.15pm arriving in Dubai at 1800hrs local time. FZ201 leaves Dubai at 11.3am landing in Erbil at 01.30pm local time, the statement said.

Commenting on the launch, Flydubai CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: "Erbil is reinventing itself and undergoing an economic boom with new hotels, leisure and healthcare facilities, commercial towers and trade centres. The city's rapid development has been compared with that of Dubai and it is a beacon of progress for the rest of the country."

"In 2009, the UAE was the top foreign investor in Iraq and according to reports, the UAE is set to double investment in Iraqi Kurdistan to around Dh22 billion in the next three years," he remarked.

"Flydubai's new service will not only help to strengthen the relationship between our two nations but will also give the many Iraqi expatriates living in the UAE another affordable, quality air travel alternative to visit friends and family back home," he added.

More than 6,000 years of history and the region's natural beauty has made it a regional retreat for centuries. With the advent of a more stable period in the country's history and increasing numbers of direct flights, the city is opening its doors to a new wave of travellers and tourists, the statement added.-TradeArabia News Service