Flydubai Adds Mykonos, Santorini to Summer Schedule

A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft bearing the logo of flydubai is parked at a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, US March 11, 2019. Reuters
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft bearing the logo of flydubai is parked at a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, US March 11, 2019. Reuters
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Flydubai Adds Mykonos, Santorini to Summer Schedule

A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft bearing the logo of flydubai is parked at a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, US March 11, 2019. Reuters
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft bearing the logo of flydubai is parked at a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, US March 11, 2019. Reuters

Flydubai has announced the launch of two new summer routes. The Dubai-based carrier will operate three weekly flights to Mykonos International Airport (JMK) and Santorini (Thira) Airport (JTR) between June 18 and September 29.

The launch of flights to the two Greek islands brings the number of seasonal routes served by flydubai to six destinations including Bodrum and Trabzon in Turkey, Batumi in Georgia and Tivat in Montenegro, it said.

“We are excited to grow our network and give passengers more options to travel this summer. Demand for travel has started to increase as more countries gradually lift restrictions on international travel.

The UAE has recently added Bahrain, Greece and Serbia to the safe travel list which has encouraged more people to start planning their summer holidays. Mykonos and Santorini will be popular choices for travel from the UAE and GCC,” said Chief Executive Officer at flydubai Ghaith Al Ghaith.

A safe travel corridor between the UAE and Greece has opened for fully vaccinated travelers to move between the two countries from May 18. Under the agreement, passengers holding vaccination certificates issued by health authorities can travel to Greece without having to quarantine on arrival. The same rule applies for travelers flying from Greece to the UAE.

Commenting on the announcement, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “We are pleased to offer our passengers convenient travel options this summer to some of the most popular holiday spots.”

“Whether flying in Business or Economy Class or opting to purchase a flexible holiday package that includes flights, hotels stay and other add ons, flydubai is committed to making travel this summer more flexible and a little less stressful,” he added.



Lebanon Extends Deadline for Licensing Round for Offshore Oil, Gas Fields

A motorbike drives past buildings destroyed during previous Israeli military fire on the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, near the border with northern Israel on June 29, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)
A motorbike drives past buildings destroyed during previous Israeli military fire on the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, near the border with northern Israel on June 29, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)
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Lebanon Extends Deadline for Licensing Round for Offshore Oil, Gas Fields

A motorbike drives past buildings destroyed during previous Israeli military fire on the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, near the border with northern Israel on June 29, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)
A motorbike drives past buildings destroyed during previous Israeli military fire on the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, near the border with northern Israel on June 29, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by AFP)

Lebanon's energy ministry has extended a deadline for companies to bid for exploration rights for offshore oil and gas fields in its third licensing round until March next year, the Lebanese Petroleum Administration said on Monday.

The government originally set a deadline of July 3, 2024 for bidding in the licensing round for nine maritime blocks, which was launched in January.

The Lebanese Petroleum Administration said the deadline had been extended to March 17, 2025 to provide enough time to monitor "accelerating regional and international developments," find ways of attracting more interest from companies and "work towards achieving economic stability."

The statement did not mention the ongoing hostilities between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, which have been trading fire for more than eight months in parallel with the Gaza war.

An industry source told Reuters that the exchanges of fire had been a major factor in the decision to extend the deadline.

Lebanon has extended previous licensing rounds repeatedly, in some cases because there had been no applications.

Lebanon formally delineated its maritime border with Israel in October 2022 after years of US-mediated talks. It had hoped this would pave the way for an influx of bids for oil and gas exploration in its waters.

But the recent border conflict has resurrected fears that a full-scale war could break out, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah made threats about the Mediterranean in a recent speech.