Dhaka: flydubai will launch direct flights to Benghazi on June 17, becoming the first UAE airline to connect Dubai with the Libyan city.

The Dubai-based carrier said the thrice-weekly service to Benghazi's Benina International Airport will operate from Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport.

Flight FZ1147 will depart Dubai at 06:50 and arrive in Benghazi at 10:45. The return flight, FZ1148, will depart Benghazi at 11:45 and arrive in Dubai at 19:15.

The new route will operate under flydubai's codeshare partnership with Emirates, offering passengers single-ticket itineraries, through baggage check-in, and access to a broader combined network.

With Benghazi added, flydubai's network across East and North Africa will expand to 13 destinations in nine countries. The airline recently launched flights to Nairobi — its second Kenyan destination after Mombasa — and started seasonal services to Al Alamein in Egypt.

"We have recently been scaling up our operations with a continued focus on adding new routes and frequencies as travel demand increases, and by the summer, our network is expected to grow to more than 100 destinations," said flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith.

The carrier will also restart seasonal summer flights from May 22 to Bodrum, Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Santorini, and Tivat. A daily service to Bangkok will begin on July 1, making it the airline's second destination in Thailand alongside Krabi.