Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia yesterday celebrated the launch of its inaugural flight to Ukraine’s fourth largest city Odessa. With this Air Arabia has become the only UAE-based airline to offer direct flights to Odessa.

Flight G9027 landed on Friday at 1.20pm marking the on-going expansion of Air Arabia’s operations into the Ukrainian market, with four cities in the country new served by the airline, said a statement from the airline.

The flight which touched down in Odessa was greeted by a delegation of officials from the airport, it added.

Commenting on the launch, Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Ali said this flight is especially significant as it marks a new milestone in the airline’s expansion into Ukraine and the wider CIS region.

"With touch down in Odessa, Air Arabia now links the UAE and Ukraine with 10 weekly flights serving the cities of Kiev, Donetsk and Kharkiv, in addition to Odessa," he added.

The carrier offers services to Odessa on Tuesdays and Fridays, departing from Sharjah International Airport at 9.25am and arriving at Odessa International Airport at 1.20pm. On return, the flights will depart from Odessa at 2.20pm and arrive in Sharjah at 8:05pm.-TradeArabia News Service