DUBAI, UAE / RankWire.AI / – Dubai-headquartered airline flydubai unveiled a significant boost to its European flight offerings on Wednesday, aiming to tap into increasing international travel demand by adding more flights to major Italian gateways. As reported by Emirates News Agency, the airline is enhancing its operations within Italy with more frequent flights to Milan-Bergamo and Naples, thereby strengthening direct air links between the United Arab Emirates and Southern Europe. Beginning July 31, 2026, flydubai will operate a double daily service connecting Dubai International Airport with Milan-Bergamo Airport, while also increasing its flights to Naples International Airport to a daily schedule.
This expansion broadens flydubai’s overall presence in Italy, which already includes three weekly flights to Catania Airport in Sicily and seasonal summer flights to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport in Sardinia, operating until the end of August. The airline also outlined operational adjustments driven by scheduled infrastructure improvements in Southern Italy. Specifically, due to maintenance work at Naples International Airport, flydubai will temporarily reroute its daily service from Dubai International Airport to Salerno Costa d’Amalfi and Cilento Airport from November 1 through November 30, 2026. The regular schedule to Naples will resume on December 1, 2026, with existing bookings automatically transferred to the Salerno route during this period.
Airline Boosts Flight Frequencies to Major Italian Cities
These increased routes to Milan-Bergamo and Naples continue to operate under the established codeshare agreement between flydubai and Emirates, the international flag carrier. This partnership provides passengers with integrated travel options, single-ticket purchases, synchronized flight timings, and through-checked baggage services across both airlines. By leveraging the combined network via Dubai’s central hub, travelers transferring from Italian airports gain easier access to long-haul destinations across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including direct flights to Kenya, Oman, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Zanzibar.
This capacity expansion aligns with broader trends in commercial aviation across the Middle East and Europe, where international passenger numbers have steadily increased following the pandemic. The uptick in flight frequencies supports growing bilateral trade, investment, and leisure tourism flows between the UAE and Italy. Doubling the daily flights to Milan-Bergamo increases capacity for business travelers heading to Italy’s key financial and industrial hub, while daily services to Southern Italy cater to rising seasonal tourist demand for visits to historic sites along the Amalfi Coast.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, flydubai’s Chief Executive Officer, remarked on this network expansion, emphasizing that Naples and Milan have become vital gateways within the airline’s European network. He underlined that the airline’s main goal remains providing consistent regional connectivity for travelers and long-term commitments to underserved markets. Al Ghaith pointed out that market data indicates that flydubai’s operational focus in Italy is strengthened by strategic increases in flight frequency to accommodate the rising passenger flow between the United Arab Emirates and Italy, especially as the winter travel season approaches.
Salerno Route as a Temporary Alternative During Maintenance
Jeyhun Efendi, the Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, elaborated on the commercial significance of boosting direct flights to Naples and Milan-Bergamo, stating that this move underpins the core strategic importance of the Italian market for the airline. Efendi explained that non-stop connections enable international travelers to leverage the combined reach of flydubai and Emirates, facilitating seamless access to popular global destinations through Dubai. The airline’s commercial leadership has confirmed that their fleet allocation and operational teams are prepared to manage the increased flight operations, ensuring high reliability for both passenger and cargo services.
These operational improvements in Italy reflect flydubai’s ongoing fleet expansion and broader network development strategies. As the airline continues to introduce modern narrow-body aircraft, its commercial planners are eyeing further frequency increases on high-demand European routes. The expanded Italian flight schedule reinforces Dubai’s role as a global aviation hub, enabling smooth passenger and freight movements between European origins and expanding destinations across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and East Africa.