In March 2008, flydubai was established by the government of Dubai, and the airline placed its first order for 50 Boeing B737-800 aircraft in July.
In June 2009, flydubai commenced operations with flights to Beirut, Amman, Doha, Kuwait, Muscat, Kathmandu, and Chittagong.
In 2011-2012, flydubai more than doubled its number of destinations, from 25 to 52, and was operating more than 1,000 weekly flights.
In February 2013, flydubai announced it had transported 10.4 million passengers since its launch, becoming the second-largest carrier by passenger number operating out of Dubai International Airport.
In June 2013, flydubai announced the introduction of Business Class service on its flights. Featuring spacious leather seats with personal 12.1-inch touchscreen, three-course meals, dedicated Business Class check-in desks, fast-tracking through security and baggage collection at selected airports, access to the flydubai Business Lounge in Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport (DXB), the Business Class offers a superior travel experience.
From October 2015, flydubai began operating flights out of Al-Maktoum International (DWC) to accommodate the growing airline.
In November 2017, flydubai announced an order for 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, becoming the second-largest MAX customer. flydubai had received its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from the order made at the Dubai Airshow in 2013 in July.
In August 2018, Emirates Skywards became flydubai’s loyalty programme.
In November 2019, after the Boeing B737 MAX 8 aircraft grounding significantly impacted the financial results of the airline, flydubai’s chairman said it might replace its MAX fleet with Airbus A320neo jets.
In 2019, 10 years after its inaugural flight, flydubai is operating more than 1,400 flights a week to destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia.
In 2020, flydubai faced one of the toughest years in the aviation sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, the airline laid off many employees, reduced salaries, and put some employees on unpaid leaves for a year. Revenues in 2020 plunged by 52.7% compared to 2019, reaching USD 773 million. The airline carried only 3.2 million passengers compared to 9.6 million passengers carried in 2019 and reported a loss of USD 194 million.
In April 2021, the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft rejoined flydubai’s fleet after a two-year grounding. This follows an exhaustive 20-month review that has involved the manufacturer, regulators, researchers, scientists, engineers, mechanics, and pilots whose sole objective has been to safely return the aircraft to service, as well as the airline’s compliance with all of the requirements in the Safety Decision issued by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
By December 2021, after a difficult 2020 that saw flydubai grounded from March to June, the airline has been slowly building back its route network, resuming flights and expanding its network to cater to increasing demand for travel, as more countries ease restrictions on international air travel and more passengers return to the skies. Flydubai redesigned the passenger experience to enable travel in a safe environment that minimizes contact and offers passengers the confidence to travel.
In its over 10-years history, flydubai had only one incident, in January 2015, and one accident, in March 2016, when flydubai Flight 981 crashed at Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, killing all 55 passengers and 7 crew onboard. The cause is still under investigation.
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