LONDON – flydubai become the second airline of the United Arab Emirates to fly to Samarkand from Dubai with a 2 weekly flight service, signalling the importance of the CIS or Central Asian Market, and a strong post-pandemic recovery.
Premium low-cost carrier flydubai, a subsidiary of Emirates airlines based out of Dubai International Airport has announced they will launch two weekly flights from Dubai to the ancient city of Samarkand as of the 20th of September.
This means that the airline’s route network to Uzbekistan comprises Tashkent and Samarkand. Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said:
“We started our operations in Uzbekistan in 2019 and we were pleased to see the market grow as the demand for travel returned. With a combined frequency of eight flights a week to Samarkand and Tashkent, we look forward to further supporting the trade and cultural links with the UAE and encouraging more people to visit this beautiful country steeped in history and tradition.”
flydubai will fly to Samarkand International Airport (SKD) from Terminal 3 in Dubai where its operations are clustered on Tuesdays and Fridays. The opening of the route enhances the route network of flydubai as they are poised to be a leading regional airline out of Dubai.
The launch of this new destination will raise its network to 102 destinations conducted by an efficient fleet of 65 Boeing 737 aircraft, both NG and MAXs. Passengers from both ends of Dubai and Samarkand has now better options travelling between these two cities and also other cities worldwide through its Dubai hub and partner airline, Emirates.
Samarkand is a very beautiful place, spoiled with ancient history and rich nomadic Uzbek culture. The cities are also once an important urban area for the cradle of human civilisation along with Rome and Athens.
The city, located at the crossroads of the ‘Silk Road’, is also an accredited UNESCO World Heritage city. The city has many beautiful landmarks, such as Registan Mosque and madrasas, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, the Shakhi-Zinda compound and the Gur-Emir ensemble, as well as Ulugh-Beg’s Observatory.
Commenting on the launch of flights, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “Central Asia is an important and growing market for flydubai.”
“flydubai’s new service will provide our customers from Samarkand and the adjacent areas with an easier and more efficient way to travel to the UAE and beyond. We will start with a twice-weekly service from September and we are excited to see the market grow even further in the future.”
Apart from flying to Uzbekistan, flydubai also flies to six vibrant Central Asian destinations. Such as Almaty and Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, and Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
Flight details
The timetable of the flight to Samarkand is shown below. The airline has also listed its return business class fare from Dubai to Samarkand starting from AED8,000 and its cheapest fare (Economy Light) starting from AED 1,800.
