Olbia Costa Smeralda airport welcomed today – shortly after 12 – the first direct intercontinental flight from Dubai .

The Ceo of Geasar , Silvio Pippobello and the Ceo of Flydubai Ghaith Al Ghaith were present to greet the arrival of the Flydubai aircraft at the airport in Northern Sardinia.

Initially, however, the agreements were different . Announced in November 2022 by the Middle Eastern low-cost airline (Emirates partner) it should have affected the Cagliari-Dubai route . But after a confrontation with Sogaer - the company that manages the Elmas airport - and Geasar, the route was changed.

According to the CEO of the Olbia airport «it was a unitary action that was carried out with the airport of Cagliari and also of Alghero . Today we are witnessing a historic event , both for the connectivity that this connection develops, and for the tourist opportunities that it offers to the whole island, through the diffusion of the Sardinia brand all over the world".

For now, the company has made available three flights a week , until September. But the numbers are destined to grow should the demand increase. «Olbia airport is the fifth important Italian node for us to arrive from Dubai - declared the CEO of Flydubai Ghaith Al Ghaith -. We operate on Catania, Naples and Pisa and now we add the destination Olbia. This shows how much the Emirates love Italy and Sardinia, and vice versa. What we do is connect people with Dubai, but we also offer the possibility of 250 connections via the Emirates to reach the whole world».

The mayor of Arzachena, Roberto Ragnedda, was also enthusiastic: «Today the dream of Prince Karim Aga Khan, which was to open Sardinia to the rest of the world, is becoming reality. It was his dream, but it was also our dream as administrators, which today comes true». The desire, according to the deputy mayor of Olbia Sabrina Serra , is that "the connection be extended even beyond 30 September to remain connected with Dubai and with the whole world".

(Unioneonline/vf)

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