Flydubai has resumed flights to Erbil in Iraq. The carrier's first flight landed on March 19 at Erbil International Airport at 16:10.

Flight FZ203 departed at 14:05 from Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport, while FZ204 returned from Erbil International Airport at 17:05 to reach Dubai International Airport at 20:55.

The carrier will operate a daily service from March 25. The seven weekly flights to Erbil will be served by a modern fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft providing high-quality services to both Business and Economy Class passengers. The carrier will offer passengers greater travel options from Erbil to more than 100 destinations across the flydubai network.

The number of passengers travelling between Erbil and Dubai on flydubai has grown by more than 161 per cent since the airline launched its flights in 2010. The carrier offers passengers flexible options for onward travel to more destinations worldwide through the codeshare partnership with Emirates, providing access to key markets such as China, Korea, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

"The recommencement of flights underscores flydubai’s commitment to providing quality services to passengers between Dubai and Erbil," said Hamad Obaidalla, chief commercial officer of flydubai.

“There is a strong demand for flydubai flights to Erbil and this demand is constantly driving us to strengthen our product offering and services. As our partnership with Emirates continues to grow, we will enable passengers to have more options to travel to more destinations more frequently,” he added.

"Erbil is one of the key cities in Iraq and is an important commercial and economic centre thanks to the diversity of its industries including energy, infrastructure and tourism and we are keen to serve this important destination and the Iraqi market. "

Flydubai began its direct flights to Erbil in July 2010, creating free flows of trade and tourism between the two countries as Iraq has grown into one of the largest trading partners of the United Arab Emirates.

Iraq is an important market for flydubai, the carrier operates 37 weekly flights to four destinations: Baghdad, Basra, Erbil and Najaf. Operating from Dubai’s aviation hub, passengers from Iraq have access to a wide network of destinations in Europe, Asia, India and Russia. - TradeArabia News Service