DUBAI, UAE: The Dubai-based low-cost airline Flydubai plans to start its operations in Jebel Ali – a thriving port town located around 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai – in next few years.
“We will start operations in Jebel Ali in the next couple of years,” the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Flydubai Ghaith Al Ghaith said according to Khaleej Times.
“We need to grow in Dubai World Central. We will have two operations — in Jebel Ali and Dubai International Airport. We will eventually move to Al Maktoum International Airport because they will be closing down the Dubai airport. In this relocation, there will be plans for handover and we will be part of that plan,” Ghaith Al Ghaith said.
The CEO Flydubai said that the upcoming Al Maktoum International Airport will give the airline a bigger scope to grow.
Dubai has announced a plan to relocate the airport from Dubai International to Al Maktoum Airport in 10 years.
Furthermore, Ghaith Al Ghaith ruled out establishing another base outside Dubai.
“(We are) Dubai-centric and there is more potential to grow from Dubai. I don’t see us moving to another hub because we can grow to 200 aircraft easily… India represents 1.5 percent of our capacity and 20 per cent of our staff is from India. If we have 20 percent more India capacity, you can imagine how big we are going to grow,” he said.
