March 28, 2021, Tirana (Albania) – the Dubai-based airline, flydubai’s first flight to Tirana International Airport (TIA) touched down today in the Albanian capital marking the start of a non-stop service from Dubai.

The aircraft departed Dubai International (DXB) at 09:44 and arrived in Tirana at 13:35 local time. The flight was welcomed on arrival by a ceremonial water cannon salute and representatives from Tirana International Airport and Albanian Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mr Blendi Klosi.

flydubai will serve this route with two flights per week, on Thursdays and Sundays, and will operate with a Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft. With the introduction of this twice-weekly service, flydubai is the first airline to provide non-stop international air connections from the United Arab Emirates to Albania.

During the ceremony, the Chief Operation Officer of Tirana International Airport Mr. Volker Wendefeuer stated: “We have worked intensively for this route and we are happy to connect two countries with great potential for growth in the economic and tourism sectors. I wish flydubai a great beginning here and a lot of success for all the parties that have been involved in completing this grand project.”

“It is a new chapter for the Albanian airport that is marked with this first direct flight from Dubai. It is a very important event because with these pandemic times we need new markets. The frequency of flydubai flights is expected to increase in the coming months and given that Dubai represents a very important point of the relations of Albanian tourism with the Arab and Asian world, communication with tourists of this important market for us, will develop further the tourism in Albania” said the Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mr Blendi Klosi.

Commenting on the start of flights, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “We are pleased to be the first UAE-based airline to operate direct flights between Dubai and Tirana. We hope these direct airlinks support trade and tourism between the two countries in the future as travel restrictions begin to ease. We look forward to seeing demand grow on this route and to increasing the frequency of our flights.”

Emirates will codeshare on this route offering travellers more seamless connections through Dubai’s international aviation hub to 155 destinations between both the Emirates and flydubai networks including Australia, China, Indian Ocean, Japan and South Asia.

Fares and flight schedule 

Flights from Terminal 3, Dubai International (DXB) to Tirana International Airport (TIA) will operate on Thursdays and Sundays.

Return Business Class fares from TIA to DXB start from EUR 1,800 and Economy Class fares start from EUR 420.

For the full timetable and fares, please visit: https://www.flydubai.com 

Flights can be booked from flydubai’s website (flydubai.com), the official flydubai App, the Call Centre in Dubai on (+971) 600 54 44 45, the flydubai travel shops or through our travel partners.

About flydubai

From its home in Dubai, flydubai has created a network of more than 70 destinations served by a fleet of 51 aircraft. Since commencing operations in June 2009, flydubai has been committed to removing barriers to travel, creating free flows of trade and tourism and enhancing connectivity between different cultures across its ever-expanding network.

 flydubai has marked its journey with a number of milestones:

·         An expanding network: Created a network of more than 70 destinations in 46 countries across Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and South-East Europe, the GCC and the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent.

·     Serving underserved markets: Opened more than 40 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai. 

·        An efficient single fleet-type: Operates a single fleet-type of 51 Boeing 737 aircraft and includes: 37 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

·        Enhancing connectivity: Carried more than 75 million passengers since it began operations in 2009.

For the latest news, please visit the flydubai Newsroom.