Flydubai 'records remarkable growth in 2012'

Bosses at flydubai have confirmed the airline experienced "remarkable growth" in 2012.The carrier has been working hard to extend its services to different parts of the world and new figures have shown that more and more people are booking flights with the firm.Flydubai recorded a 65 per cent increase in passenger numbers from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) during the year.While this was very impressive, it was nothing compared to the growth seen in visitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).Indeed, the airline confirmed the number of people heading to Dubai from these two areas was up by a staggering 285 per cent on the previous year.This was helped by a 114 per cent rise in the number of flights being offered by flydubai over the same period.The carrier has launched yet another new service in the past week, with travellers now able to fly to Malé - the capital of the Maldives.It is now the second largest airline operating out of Dubai International Airport and its GCC network is the largest of all the Middle Eastern companies, with 265 flights per week to Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.Russia has also proven to be an increasingly lucrative market, with statistics provided by Dubai International Airport highlighting a year-on-year 34 per cent upturn in traffic from the European country in the third quarter of 2012.Anita Mehra, vice president of marketing & corporate communications at Dubai Airports, said flydubai played a huge part in the airport's impressive passenger numbers last year."Flydubai's growth, particularly within Russia and the CIS, has provided a tremendous boost to passenger traffic through linking Dubai to many cities in this region for the first time," she remarked.With passenger numbers expected to reach the 66 million mark in 2013, airport chiefs have had no choice but to expand the facility.A new section is opening in the first quarter of the year and the capacity is expected to rise to 75 million a year.