Dubai-based Flydubai, a leading low-cost carrier, has doubled its African network to 12 destinations this year with the launch of inaugural flights to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania which touched down yesterday (October 22).

Flydubai entered the market in 2009 with flights to Djibouti, and in 2011 Addis Ababa became Flydubai’s second East African destination. In 2014, Flydubai added six new routes to the continent with the start of flights to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and three destinations in Tanzania.

“The United Arab Emirates has recognised the immense potential in the emerging markets of East Africa, like Tanzania. We continue to work diligently to support the travel, trade and tourism objectives by strengthening the direct links between the UAE and these African markets,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of Flydubai.

The Flydubai delegation led by Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa) was met with inaugural events held at Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar airports.

“The pace of Flydubai’s expansion in East Africa has picked up. Six of the 23 new routes we have launched this year are to Africa. The potential we see for this market is just the tip of the iceberg as it is still a heavily underserved region. We are very excited about our new flights to Tanzania, which are going to be very popular for our passengers whether for leisure or business,” said Sreedharan. – TradeArabia News Service