Malta is to regain an air link to Dubai from May, when FlyDubai will begin operating four flights a week between the two.

The Dubai-based airline said on Monday that it will start flying to Malta International Airport from May 12, with two of the weekly flights linking Malta International Airport to Dubai International Airport directly and two others including a stop at Catania International Airport.

It is the first time that the airline has operated flights to Malta.

Malta currently has no flights to Dubai following Emirates’ decision to pull the plug on the destination as part of a series of COVID-19 related cutback measures.   

Malta lost almost half its air routes last year as air carriers scaled back their route network, a Central Bank analysis found. 

Emirates will codeshare the four-times-weekly FlyDubai service, which will operate from Dubai airport’s terminal three. Flydubai said the codesharing arrangement would provide customers with seamless connectivity with both airlines’ network of routes, extending to Australia, China, Indian Ocean, Japan and South Asia.

Return fares will start from €500 for economy class seats or €2,000 for business class seats. A full schedule of the Dubai-Malta flights is available on the Flydubai website.

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said the airline’s decision to grow its network of destinations reflected its expectation that passengers would gradually return to the skies as COVID-19 restrictions on air travel eased.  

“Since commencing operations in 2009, we have been committed to opening up previously underserved markets and the launch of our latest routes in Europe demonstrates our continuous efforts to offer more people the opportunity to travel more often while creating free flows of travel, trade, and tourism,” he said.

Malta’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Maria Camilleri Calleja said the country was “grateful” to Flydubai for announcing the route, which would further strengthen political, commercial and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

 

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