By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: flydubai, the Dubai-based airline, became the first airline to operate direct air links to the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana from the United Arab Emirates. The inaugural flight FZ 1789 from Dubai International (DXB) to Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport (LJU) touched down just after 14:00 yesterday to a water cannon salute and a warm welcome from the airport and government officials.
flydubai and Fraport Slovenija, the operator of Ljubljana Airport (LJU), held a press conference at the airport prior to the arrival of the carrier’s inaugural flight. The press conference was attended by local media, travel agents and representatives of government bodies.
Speaking at the press conference, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “we are excited to see our network in Europe grow to 20 points in 17 countries, many of which had very few or no direct links to the UAE. flydubai’s direct flights to Ljubljana will strengthen the ties between our two countries and help stimulate tourism, trade and investment opportunities in the future. We look forward to welcoming on board our passengers from Slovenia, especially as our city gets ready to welcome the world as Expo 2020 Dubai opens its doors to visitors from beginning of October.”
Slovenia will be among the 191 participating nations taking part at the anticipated Expo 2020 Dubai. The Slovenian pavilion is designed to be a floating green oasis that inspires sustainable solutions.
His Excellency Oto Pungartnik, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Arab Emirates, said:
“The new flydubai route between Dubai and Ljubljana will have a positive impact on the growth of tourism in both countries. We are convinced that the tourists from UAE will enjoy the hospitality of our people and the beautiful green nature in Slovenia, located between the Alps and the Mediterranean. The flight connection will also enable further strengthening of the economic ties and extensive cooperation between the two friendly countries.”
Commenting on the start of flights to Ljubljana, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “we are very pleased to see the first flydubai flight land in Ljubljana airport today. We have had excellent feedback from our customers and partners on the launch of our direct flights to the market and we can already see healthy booking numbers. We are confident that passengers will enjoy flydubai’s convenient and reliable service and the comfortable cabin of our Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which offers a flatbed in Business Class, and is scheduled to operate on this route.”
With international travel restrictions gradually easing, flydubai has grown its network to over 95 destinations 50 countries across Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and South-East Europe, the GCC and the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent. With the resumption of flights to Prague and Zagreb on 23 September and the launch of operations to Ljubljana on 24 September, Budapest and Warsaw on 30 September and Ankara and Helsinki in October, the carrier serves 20 points in Europe.
Zmago Skobir, CEO Fraport Slovenija, said: “I am extremely happy because after many years, today we are welcoming flydubai for the first time here at Ljubljana Airport. We believe it will have a significant impact on the competitiveness of our airport. The new connection is very attractive for Slovenian passengers and we are convinced that it will also attract passengers from the wider region. Furthermore, we are looking forward to many guests visiting from the UAE, for whom our beautiful country can be an attractive holiday destination all year round. New flights coincide with the opening of a new passenger terminal, which gives additional incentive to the traffic recovery, affected by the epidemic.”
Complimentary 1-Day Ticket to visit Expo 2020
Passengers booking a flydubai flight to Dubai will enjoy a complimentary 1-Day Ticket to visit Expo 2020 Dubai, taking place from 01 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The initiative is valid for all bookings made from 01 September for travel during the event dates.
Passenger experience
Passengers travelling on a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft can enjoy more comfort and an enhanced travel experience. The new cabin offering features a flatbed in Business Class and in addition to the extra space and privacy, passengers can sleep comfortably during their flight. Economy Class offers new RECARO seats, which are designed to optimise space and comfort so passengers can sit back, relax and enjoy their flight.
flydubai’s Boeing 737 MAX aircraft also features exceptional inflight entertainment with a full HD, 11.6-inch screen, with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music and games in English, Arabic and Russian. Passengers can enjoy complimentary seatback inflight entertainment in Business Class or purchase affordable inflight entertainment packages when travelling in Economy Class.
flydubai’s passenger experience has been redesigned to enable travel in a safe environment that minimises crew and passenger contact and offers passengers confidence to travel at every step of their journey. The airline offers a complimentary global COVID-19 cover to offer passengers greater peace of mind when travelling.
Flight details
Emirates will codeshare on this route offering travellers more seamless connections through Dubai’s international aviation hub to more than 190 destinations between both the Emirates and flydubai networks including Australia, China, Indian Ocean, Japan, South Asia and the United States.
Flights from Terminal 3, Dubai International (DXB) to Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport (LJU) will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Return Business Class fares from DXB to LJU start from AED 8,000 and Economy Class fares start from AED 1,900.
Return Business Class fares from LJU to DXB start from EUR 1,700 and Economy Class fares start from EUR 350.
Passengers are required to make sure that they are up to date with the regulations from the IATA Travel Centre and the IATA destination tracker for their whole journey, and follow the guidance issued by the authorities and the airline. Passengers can also visit the COVID-19 information hub on flydubai.com for more information.
Flights are available to book on 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. In addition, passengers have the option to choose full packages from holidays by flydubai.
For the full timetable and fares, please visit: https://www.flydubai.com/en/plan/timetable
List of airports flydubai operates to:
| 1 | BEG | Belgrade, Serbia | 11 | NAP | Napoli, Italy |
| 2 | BUD | Budapest, Hungary | 12 | ODS | Odessa, Ukraine |
| 3 | CLJ | Cluj, Romania | 13 | OTP | Bucharest, Romania |
| 4 | ESB | Ankara, Turkey | 14 | PRG | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 5 | HEL | Helsinki, Finland | 15 | SJJ | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 6 | IST | Istanbul, Turkey | 16 | SOF | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 7 | KBP | Kyiv, Ukraine | 17 | SZG | Salzburg, Austria |
| 8 | KRK | Krakow, Poland | 18 | TIA | Tirana, Albania |
| 9 | LJU | Ljubljana, Slovenia | 19 | WAW | Warsaw, Poland |
| 10 | MSQ | Minsk, Belarus | 20 | ZAG | Zagreb, Croatia |
