Budget carrier Flydubai, a sister company of Dubai's largest Middle East carrier Emirates, took off on its first route to Beirut and on Tuesday is scheduled to launch its second route to Amman. Next week flights will begin on routes to Damascus and Alexandria. The Gulf emirate unveiled its plans for Flydubai in April, shrugging off the severe impact of the global financial crisis on Dubai's rapid economic growth and its overheated real estate sector. The launch of the new airline was first announced in March 2008.
