The Emirates sister company FlyDubai is further expanding its presence in the Russian market with the launch of a non-stop connection between Dubai and the metropolis of St. Petersburg. From January 20, 2023, this route will be served daily. The flight times in Salzburg will also be adjusted from mid-January 2023.

Saint Petersburg is not only an important economic metropolis, but also plays a major role in tourism. The city attracts visitors from all over the world, although accessibility by air has been limited since the beginning of the military invasion of Ukraine. EU carriers are banned from Russian airspace and, conversely, airlines based in the Russian Federation are not allowed to use those of the European Union and other countries.

International air traffic, which was previously mostly handled no-stop, has since shifted to a few hubs. Dubai, Doha, Istanbul, Antalya and Abu Dhabi as well as Belgrade deserve special mention, as there are many transfer passengers from/to Russia at these airports. The flight connections were not reduced either, but gradually expanded. With the exception of the Serbian capital, this applies to both Russian carriers and local airlines, mostly network carriers, but also low-cost carriers.

FlyDubai will fly daily between Dubai and Saint Petersburg from January 20, 2023. This offers another destination in the Russian Federation. According to the company, the route network is growing to 144 destinations that are offered from the United Arab Emirates. An extensive codeshare agreement is maintained with Emirates, so that transfers between the two carriers are possible at the hub.

As a rule, Boeing 737-Max-8 should be used. It should also be noted that Russia has not completely lifted the maximum flight ban. Foreign carriers are permitted to use this pattern, but only if the state in which the company's headquarters and/or aircraft registry is located is not on the list of so-called "unfriendly states". For example, the US and the European Union are on this Kremlin “black list”.

The flight time on this route is six hours and 50 minutes, making it one of the longer flights operated by the airline to Krabi and Pattaya in Thailand, also commencing January 20, 2023. The airline entered the Russian market for the first time in 2010 with direct flights to Samara and Yekaterinburg. With the launch of the new service, FlyDubai will serve nine destinations in the market including Kazan (KZN), Makhachkala (MCX), Mineralnye Vody (MRV), Moscow (VKO), Novosibirsk (OVB), Samara (KUF) and St. Petersburg (LED), Ufa (UFA) and Yekaterinburg (SVX).

“The launch of our operations to St. Petersburg will offer passengers a more convenient option for travel from the market in Dubai and beyond within the Flydubai network to popular holiday destinations such as the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zanzibar. Customers can enjoy a comfortable travel experience aboard our Boeing 737 MAX, which features a lie-flat Business Class seat, comfortable Economy Class seats with inflight entertainment and an internationally inspired menu,” said Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President , Commercial Operations and E-Commerce at Flydubai

New flight times for Salzburg-Dubai

On the route to Salzburg, Austria, FlyDubai changes the flight times. From mid-January, Flydubai planes will land at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday and at 13:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The take-off towards Dubai takes place one hour after landing.

“The isolated flights after 23 p.m. were a thorn in our side. It is not good for our airport neighbours, the passengers or for us at the airport when flights take place outside of operating hours. Together with Flydubai, we have succeeded in changing the flight times, from mid-January the planes from Dubai will arrive shortly after noon. This helps all of us and especially the passengers, who can get more onward flights in Dubai with less waiting time," says Salzburg Airport Managing Director Bettina Ganghofer.