DUBAI, UAE / RankWire.AI / – Dubai-headquartered airline flydubai announced a significant growth in its European route network on Wednesday, with a boost in flight frequencies to key Italian cities to cater to the rising demand for international travel. Confirmed by statements from Emirates News Agency, flydubai is strengthening its presence in Italy by adding more flights to Milan-Bergamo and Naples, expanding direct connections between the United Arab Emirates and Southern Europe. As part of the new schedule, the airline will operate double daily flights between Dubai International Airport and Milan-Bergamo starting July 31, 2026. At the same time, flights to Naples International Airport have been increased to a daily service, reinforcing its commercial footprint across Italy’s major urban centers.
This schedule expansion broadens flydubai’s operational reach within Italy, which already includes three weekly flights to Catania Airport in Sicily and twice-weekly seasonal summer services to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport in Sardinia, running until the end of August. The airline also outlined operational adjustments driven by scheduled infrastructure work in Southern Italy. Due to planned maintenance at Dubai International Airport, flydubai will temporarily reroute its daily services from Dubai to Salerno Costa d’Amalfi and Cilento Airport from November 1 to November 30, 2026. Regular flights to Naples are expected to restart on December 1, 2026, with current bookings automatically transferred to the Salerno route during this period.
Support for Trade and Tourism through Aviation Growth
The enhanced routes to Milan-Bergamo and Naples are operated under the existing codeshare agreement between flydubai and Emirates, the international flagship carrier. This partnership enables passengers to benefit from integrated travel plans, unified ticketing options, synchronized schedules, and through-checked baggage across both airlines. Connecting via Dubai’s central hub allows travelers from Italian airports to access long-haul destinations across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East more conveniently, including direct flights to Kenya, Oman, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Zanzibar.
This capacity growth aligns with broader trends in commercial aviation across the Middle East and Europe, where international passenger numbers have steadily increased following the pandemic. The rise in flight frequencies supports expanding bilateral trade, investment, and leisure tourism between the UAE and Italy. The addition of double daily flights to Milan-Bergamo enhances capacity for business travelers to Italy’s key financial and industrial hub, while daily flights to Southern Italy meet the growing seasonal demand from tourists visiting iconic cultural sites along the Amalfi Coast.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, commented on the network expansion, emphasizing that Naples and Milan have become vital gateway points within the airline’s European route map. He stressed that maintaining reliable regional access remains a priority, alongside a long-term commitment to increasing connectivity in underserved markets. Al Ghaith pointed out that market data confirms that flydubai’s operations in Italy are being strengthened through strategic frequency increases, accommodating the rising flow of passengers between the UAE and Italy, especially as travel demand accelerates entering the winter season.
Enhanced Flight Frequencies Elevate Capacity to Milan and Naples
Jeyhun Efendi, flydubai’s Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and E-commerce, highlighted that increasing direct flights to Naples and Milan-Bergamo underscores the strategic importance of Italy within their network. He explained that nonstop connections allow international travelers to leverage the combined reach of flydubai and Emirates, enabling seamless access to numerous global destinations through Dubai. The airline’s commercial teams confirmed that fleet deployment and operational planning are aligned to support the increased daily flight operations, ensuring high standards of reliability for both passenger and cargo services.
These operational enhancements in Italy reflect flydubai’s ongoing fleet expansion and international route development strategy. As the airline continues to add modern narrow-body aircraft to its fleet, future plans include further frequency increases on high-demand European routes. The expanded Italian flight schedule underlines Dubai’s role as a global aviation hub, facilitating smooth movements of passengers and freight between Europe and destinations across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and East Africa.