Flydubai registers strong growth in Ljubljana and Zagreb

Flydubai saw growth on both its Ljubljana and Zagreb service during the first three quarters of the year when compared to the same period in 2022, with the airline to add additional flights to the two cities in the coming period. The Dubai-based airline welcomed 42.561 passengers on board its Ljubljana flights, according to Slovenia’s Statistical Office, with an average cabin load factor for the entire six-month period standing at 69.8%. The carrier registered a 25.9% increase in the number of travellers handled when compared to 2022, while its average cabin load factor improved twelve points. Flydubai currently runs four weekly rotations to the Slovenian capital. From December 18, the carrier will increase frequencies to daily which will be maintained until January 14, after which flights will be reduced to five weekly before increasing again to daily from February 1 onwards.

Flydubai's Ljubljana passenger performance, Q1 - Q3, 2023

Flydubai handled 45.611 passengers on its Zagreb route during the first nine months of the year, according to the European Union’s Statistical Office. The figure is up 23.9% on last year but down 55.2% on the pre-pandemic 2019. However, back then Flydubai operated the service during the winter months, while Emirates took over from late March with its widebody B777 aircraft. Flydubai’s average cabin load factor on the route during the first three quarters of this year stood at 76.3%, up 6.6 points on 2022 and an increase of twelve points on 2019. The carrier plans to boost its Zagreb frequencies next summer to daily, up from five weekly this peak travel season.

Flydubai's Zagreb passenger performance, Q1 - Q3, 2023

Emirates discontinued flights to Zagreb in 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the airline said that while it is recovering quickly from the pandemic and capacity should return to pre-Covid levels next year, no final decision has been made concerning its Zagreb flights. “We hope to restart our operations in Zagreb when it is commercially and operationally feasible to do so in the future, and we will make a formal announcement if there are any developments in this regard”, the airline said.