Flydubai, Dubai’s leading low-cost airline, said it has added another Iraqi destination, Basra to its network, with plans to launch four weekly flights to the port city starting from August 8.

Basra joins the capital Baghdad, plus Najaf, Sulaimaniyah, and Erbil, swelling flydubai’s Iraqi route map to five points, one of the most comprehensive networks to Iraq in the region, said a top official.

"We identified Iraq as one of our principal markets in 2010 with the launch of services to Erbil and Sulaimaniyah. This is in line with our commitment to continually identify emerging and underserved destinations," remarked flydubai’s CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith.

The flights FZ229 will depart Dubai Terminal 2 at 8.45am and arrive in Basra International Airport at 9.40am (local time). On return, flight FZ230, will take off from Basra at 10.40am and land in Dubai at 1.25pm.

The return fares from Dubai to Basra start at Dh2,205 ($600) and include one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7kg, one small laptop bag or handbag plus 20kg of checked baggage in each direction. A seat with extra legroom costs Dh100 extra.

"We hope that our expanding network will further promote travel between the UAE and Iraq, not only for the business community but also for the thousands of Iraqi expatriates residing in the UAE," he noted.

He emphasised the rising prospects between the UAE and Iraq, which saw trade exchange between the two nations account for more han $4.5 billion in 2011.

Iraq’s ongoing reconstruction work and the development of sectors such as energy, construction, retail, and agriculture indicate that the main demand for the new route will be business traffic. Besides its commercial interests, Iraq is also home to a number of significant historical and religious sites.

Basra is Iraq’s main port, helping shipping, logistics, and transport evolve into major industries. The oil and gas sector also maintains a significant presence in the city with most of Iraq’s oil exports being shipped from the Al Basrah Oil Terminal.-TradeArabia News Service