Dubai; 19 September 2011: One of the world’s leading cultural and party capitals*, Belgrade, otherwise known as Serbia’s White City, has been named the latest destination of pioneering low-cost carrier, flydubai.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai said: “We are committed to opening up routes previously underserved by direct UAE air links and are proud to become the first airline to operate direct services into Belgrade from Dubai. We anticipate a strong demand for flights, both from the Serbian community in the UAE as well as travellers looking for a low-cost link into one of the most dynamic cities in the world.”
Now an established tourist hub in its own right, Serbia has nurtured rich music, sports, architecture, nightlife, arts, and cultural scenes. Belgrade, its capital and largest city, currently hosts a number of international festivals including FEST (Belgrade Film Festival), BITEF (Belgrade Theatre Festival), BELEF (Belgrade Summer Festival), BEMUS (Belgrade Music Festival) and Belgrade Book Fair and has built one of the most interesting cityscapes in Europe with architectural styles ranging from Soviet to gothic.
“Serbia has taken numerous steps to develop its travel and tourism potential in recent years, including visa liberalisation and open skies policies. The subsequent entry of a number of European low-cost airlines has led to an influx of European travellers to the region and we fully expect the launch of our services to Belgrade to have the same effect here in the UAE,” added Al Ghaith.
*named by leading travel publication Lonely Planet
Serbia has a strong presence in the UAE thanks to a 5,000-strong Serbian expatriate population. One of the first established expat communities in UAE, Serbs have played an important role in the growth of the UAE and have made major contributions to the country’s engineering, construction, hospitality, health, sports and airline industries. Serbian tennis stars have also contributed to the country’s rising visibility in the emirates, in particular the regular presence of current world number one and US Open Champion Novak Djokovic at key UAE tennis tournaments such as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Belgrade will be the 46th addition to flydubai’s expanding route network, which spans the GCC, Middle East, North Africa, the Indian Sub-continent, Asia and the fringes of Europe. The airline completed a busy weekend of new flights with inaugurals taking place in Kiev, Kharkiv and Donetsk in Ukraine. Later this week flydubai will celebrate its first flights to Kazan and Ufa in Russia. flydubai has also announced flights to Tbilisi in Georgia, scheduled to commence operations on 4 November 2011.
Flight Details
Flights to and from Belgrade will operate four times-a-week and will commence on 10th November 2011. FZ741 will depart Dubai Terminal 2 at 0910hrs, landing in Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport at 1155hrs local time. The return flight FZ742 departs at 1240hrs arriving in Dubai at 2045hrs.
One way fares from Dubai-Belgrade start at AED 800 (€160). From Belgrade to Dubai the price starts at €170 (AED 850). Fares include one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7kg and one small laptop bag or hand bag. Checked baggage starts at AED 50 for 20kgs. A seat with extra legroom costs AED100 extra.
Flights between Dubai and Belgrade can be purchased from flydubai’s website (www.flydubai.com), its call centre (+9714 301 0800) and through travel partners.