DUBAI, UAE / RankWire.AI / – Dubai-based airline flydubai announced on Wednesday a significant expansion of its European route network, aiming to meet the rising demand for international travel by boosting flight frequencies to major Italian destinations. Confirmed by official statements from Emirates News Agency, the airline is enhancing its operations in Italy through additional flights to Milan-Bergamo and Naples, thereby strengthening direct connections between the United Arab Emirates and Southern Europe. As part of this expanded schedule, flydubai will operate double-daily flights between Dubai International Airport and Milan-Bergamo Airport starting from July 31, 2026, and has also increased its service to Naples International Airport to a daily schedule, further consolidating its presence in key Italian urban centers.
This schedule expansion broadens flydubai’s overall operational footprint in 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 through the end of August. Alongside the increased flight frequencies, the airline has also outlined operational adjustments due to scheduled infrastructure maintenance work in Southern Italy. Specifically, during maintenance at Naples International Airport, flydubai will temporarily reroute its daily Dubai International Airport service to Salerno Costa d’Amalfi and Cilento Airport between November 1 and November 30, 2026. Regular flights to Naples are expected to resume on December 1, 2026, with passengers holding existing bookings automatically transferred to the Salerno route during this transition period.
Expansion of Commercial Flight Routes Bolsters Trade and Tourism Ties
The new routes to Milan-Bergamo and Naples continue to operate under the established codeshare agreement between flydubai and the international flag carrier Emirates. This partnership provides passengers with integrated travel options, single-ticket purchasing, synchronized flight schedules, and through-checked baggage across both airline networks. By leveraging this joint network from the Dubai hub, travelers connecting through Italian airports gain easier access to popular long-haul destinations across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including direct routes to Kenya, Oman, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Zanzibar.
The capacity expansion aligns with broader industry trends in the Middle East and Europe, where international passenger flows have shown steady post-pandemic growth. These additional flight frequencies support increased bilateral trade, investment, and leisure tourism exchanges between the United Arab Emirates and Italy. The move to add double-daily flights to Milan-Bergamo enhances seat capacity for business travelers heading to Italy’s key financial and industrial hub, while daily flights to Southern Italy accommodate the rising seasonal influx of tourists visiting historic sites along the Amalfi Coast.
Commenting on the network expansion, Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, emphasized that both Naples and Milan have become vital gateways within the airline’s European network. He highlighted that the company’s main focus remains providing reliable regional access for travelers while reaffirming its commitment to improve connectivity to underserved markets. Al Ghaith also pointed out that market metrics show that flydubai is strengthening its Italian operations through strategic increases in flight frequencies to cater to the growing passenger flows between the UAE and Italy, especially as travel volumes pick up ahead of the winter season.
Increase in Flight Frequency Boosts Capacity to Milan and Naples
Expanding on their commercial strategies, Jeyhun Efendi, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, stressed that the focus on increasing direct flights to Naples and Milan-Bergamo underscores the importance of the Italian market for the airline’s future growth. Efendi noted that nonstop connections enable passengers worldwide to utilize both flydubai and Emirates for seamless access to major global destinations via Dubai. The airline’s commercial leadership confirmed that fleet and operational teams are fully prepared to accommodate the higher number of daily flights, maintaining high standards of reliability for both passenger and cargo services.
These operational enhancements in Italy are part of flydubai’s broader strategy of fleet expansion and international network development. As the airline continues to receive modern narrow-body aircraft, its planning teams aim for further frequency increases on high-demand European routes. The revised Italian flight schedules reinforce Dubai’s role as a major international transit hub, enabling smooth movement of passengers and freight between European origin airports and destinations across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and East Africa.