In September IndiGo is opening a new route to Ras Al Khaimah (RKT), which will become the LCC’s fourth destination in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its 11th in the Middle East.
Flights from Mumbai (BOM) will begin on Sept. 22, operating daily. The outbound service from Mumbai will depart at 11 p.m., arriving in RKT at 12.35 a.m. the following day. The return flight leaves at 2.05 a.m. and arrives in BOM at 6.40 a.m.
Confirmation of the new route comes less than a week after CEO Ronojoy Dutta revealed that the airline intended to begin serving Ras Al Khaimah “soon.” However, he did not outline the planned route, start date or frequency.
“These new flights will cater to the high demand for travel to Ras Al Khaimah, with India being the third largest international source market for the city in 2021, and traffic expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this year,” said Sanjay Kumar, IndiGo chief strategy and revenue officer, following the new route announcement.
“The increased connectivity will not only bolster trade but also strengthen sustainable and responsible tourism between the countries.”
IndiGo currently serves Dubai International (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Sharjah (SHJ) in the UAE. The new BOM-RKT service will become Ras Al Khaimah’s second route to India, alongside Air India Express’ flights from Kozhikode (CCJ).
SpiceJet previously offered regular scheduled service to RKT from six destinations, including Delhi (DEL) and Mumbai, but quietly dropped the emirate from its network in March this year.
O&D traffic between India and Ras Al Khaimah totaled 15,700 two-way passengers during 2019 when the sole nonstop route was the Air India Express service from Kozhikode, Sabre Market Intelligence figures show. However, traffic rose to 72,000 passengers during the 2021 calendar year following SpiceJet’s entry to the market in November 2020.
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