Low-cost airline flydubai has added another Iraqi destination to its network, with four-times weekly flights to Basra scheduled to begin on August 8th 2012.

Basra joins the capital, Baghdad, plus Najaf, Sulaimaniyah, and Erbil, swelling flydubai’s Iraqi route map to five points, one of the most comprehensive networks to Iraq in the region.

flydubai’s chief executive, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: “We identified Iraq as one of our principal markets in 2010 with the launch of services to Erbil and Sulaimaniyah.

“This is in line with our commitment to continually identify emerging and underserved destinations.

“We hope that our expanding network will further promote travel between the UAE and Iraq, not only for the business community but also for the thousands of Iraqi expatriates residing in the UAE.”

Iraq’s ongoing reconstruction work and the development of sectors such as energy, construction, retail, and agriculture indicate that the main demand for the new route will be business traffic.

Besides its commercial interests, Iraq is also home to a number of significant historical and religious sites.

Basra is Iraq’s main port, helping shipping, logistics, and transport evolve into major industries.

The oil and gas sector also maintains a significant presence in the city with most of Iraq’s oil exports being shipped from the Al Basrah Oil Terminal.