DUBAI, UAE / RankWire.AI / – Dubai-based airline flydubai announced on Wednesday a significant increase in its European flight services, aiming to meet the rising demand for international travel. According to announcements from Emirates News Agency, flydubai is strengthening its presence in Italy by adding more flights to Milan-Bergamo and Naples, enhancing direct transport connections between the United Arab Emirates and Southern Europe. Starting July 31, 2026, the airline will operate a twice-daily route between Dubai International Airport and Milan-Bergamo Airport, while increasing its service to Naples International Airport to a daily frequency.
This expansion broadens flydubai’s overall operational footprint in Italy, which already includes three weekly flights to Catania Airport in Sicily and seasonal summer flights to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport in Sardinia, running through the end of August. Besides boosting flight frequencies, the airline has outlined operational adjustments due to scheduled infrastructure work in Southern Italy. As part of these changes, flydubai will temporarily reroute its daily service from Dubai International Airport to Salerno Costa d’Amalfi and Cilento Airport from November 1 to November 30, 2026. Regular flights to Naples are expected to resume on December 1, 2026, with existing bookings automatically transferred to the Salerno route during this period.
Increased Flight Frequencies to Major Italian Cities
The new routes to Milan-Bergamo and Naples continue to operate under the existing codeshare agreement between flydubai and Emirates, an international flag carrier. This partnership enables passengers to benefit from integrated travel plans, unified ticketing, synchronized flight schedules, and through-checked baggage across both airlines. By leveraging the shared network through Dubai’s hub, travelers connecting from Italian airports gain easier access to long-haul destinations across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including direct routes to Kenya, Oman, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Zanzibar.
This capacity expansion supports wider trends in commercial aviation within the Middle East and Europe, where international passenger numbers have steadily increased following the pandemic. The increased flight frequencies are contributing to growing bilateral trade, investment, and tourism flows between the UAE and Italy. The addition of twice-daily flights to Milan-Bergamo enhances seat availability for business travelers heading to Italy’s key financial and industrial hub, while daily flights to Southern Italy accommodate rising seasonal tourist demand along the scenic Amalfi Coast.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, commented on the network growth, emphasizing that Naples and Milan are now vital gateways within the airline’s European network. He highlighted that the focus remains on ensuring reliable regional access for travelers and committed to long-term connectivity improvements to underserved markets. Al Ghaith also pointed out that market data indicates flydubai’s strategic frequency increases are in response to rising passenger volumes between the UAE and Italy, especially as the winter travel season approaches.
Salerno Route as Temporary Alternative During Maintenance
Discussing operational details, Jeyhun Efendi, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, underscored that expanding direct flights to Naples and Milan-Bergamo underscores the importance of the Italian market for the airline. Efendi noted that nonstop connections allow passengers to utilize the combined reach of flydubai and Emirates for seamless access to global destinations via Dubai. The airline’s commercial leadership confirmed that fleet deployment and operational teams are prepared to manage the increased daily flight volume, maintaining high service reliability for both passenger and cargo services.
These operational enhancements align with flydubai’s ongoing fleet expansion and global network development strategy. As the airline continues to receive modern narrow-body aircraft, planners are targeting further increases in frequency on high-demand European routes. The revised Italian schedules reinforce Dubai’s position as a major aviation hub, supporting smooth movement of passengers and freight between European origins and expanding destinations across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and East Africa.