On Friday, September 19th, flydubai has inaugurated its new service to Iași, becoming the first UAE carrier to serve direct flights from Dubai. With the start of its twice-weekly service to Iași, the carrier grows its network in Romania to two destinations, including Bucharest (OTP).
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The inaugural flight landed at Iași International Airport (IAS) to a traditional water cannon salute and a warm welcome by local officials, airport representatives and members of the media. In addition to flydubai’s new service to Iași, the carrier will ramp up its flights to Bucharest to a triple daily service, bringing its total frequency to the market to 21 flights a week.
Flights to Iași International Airport (IAS) will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB). Emirates will codeshare on this route, providing passengers with more options for connections through Dubai’s international aviation hub.
Speaking at the press conference, Jeyhun Efendi, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “Romania has long been a significant market for us where we have continued to see steady growth since starting flights in 2012. Over the last few years, passenger numbers have grown by an average of 16% annually on our route to Bucharest. We have increased our flights from a three-times weekly service to a triple daily service, highlighting the popularity of this route and the strong demand for travel between the UAE, Romania and beyond.”
“By introducing Iași as our second destination in Romania, alongside our planned increase in flights to Bucharest from the end of October, we are confident these enhancements will offer our customers greater convenience and more opportunities to experience the country’s culture and business opportunities. Beginning with a twice-weekly service to Iași, we are pleased to open up another underserved market for our customers to discover and see how this route develops in the years ahead,” added Efendi.
Romeo Vatră, General Manager of Iași Airport, said: “The launch of flydubai’s direct flights between Iași and Dubai marks a significant milestone for our airport, offering passengers a wider range of travel options and strengthening Iași Airport’s role as an international gateway for the entire region. At present, Iași Airport is the only airport in the Moldova region offering direct connections to the United Arab Emirates. We are pleased to welcome flydubai to Iași and would like to thank them for the confidence they have shown in choosing our city. We look forward to building a long-lasting and valuable partnership that benefits both passengers and the community.”
Known as Romania’s cultural capital, Iași is home to many historical and cultural sites for tourists to visit and marvel at. This includes the Palace of Culture, which houses four museums visitors can easily spend their days wandering in, the Metropolitan Cathedral, a magnificent Italian-Renaissance style church, as well as Romania’s oldest theatre, the Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre.
On 17 September, the carrier also welcomed Chișinău in the Republic of Moldova as its latest destination in Europe. From December, flydubai is also set to welcome Vilnius in Lithuania and Riga in Latvia.
flydubai on the Romanian market
On September 18th we had a chat with Jeyhund Efendi in Bucharest, who has “high expectations” regarding the newly launched Dubai – Iasi route. You can read the first part of the interview here. Apart from udpates on connectivity, fleet and aircraft deliveries, the flydubai official also offered some insights about the Romanian market.
We’ve learned that 70% of the passengers flying from Bucharest to Dubai are point-to-point, while the remaining 30% are connecting passengers through DXB. This route sees a good mix of traffic: leisure, tourism and business passengers. Last year, flydubai had a 15-16% growth in passenger numbers in Romania versus 2023 and a load factor of 80% from Bucharest to Dubai, according to FZ officials.
