Three European routes return to Dubai this winter. In an announcement dated 10 November 2026, flydubai confirmed it is reinstating direct services from Terminal 3 at Dubai International to Riga in Latvia, Salzburg in Austria and Vilnius in Lithuania, each three times a week, in time for the winter holiday season.
Riga starts first, on Friday 11 December 2026. Salzburg and Vilnius follow a day later, on Saturday 12 December 2026. All three routes run under the flydubai codeshare partnership with Emirates, and all three land at Terminal 3, which has its own Red Line metro station. If you are on one of the first flights in, this post covers the routes and how the first hour in Dubai works.
What is happening
flydubai describes the three services as reinstated winter routes that strengthen its European network. Riga International Airport (RIX) gets flights from 11 December, departing on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Airport in Salzburg (SZG) and Vilnius International Airport (VNO) both start on 12 December, departing on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Every route is three times weekly, and every flight operates from Terminal 3 at Dubai International.
The three cities are pitched at winter travel. The airline points to Riga’s UNESCO listed center, its Dome Square Christmas market and the Central Market in its historic Zeppelin hangars. Salzburg is Mozart’s birthplace, with a UNESCO listed Baroque center, the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Cathedral Square Christmas market and access to the Ski Amadé region. Vilnius brings one of the largest preserved old towns in Europe, with the Gediminas Castle Tower, the Gate of Dawn and Vilnius Cathedral.
Because the routes sit under the Emirates codeshare, flydubai says customers get single ticket bookings, baggage checked through to the final destination, and access to hundreds of destinations across both networks. The announcement also flags onward connections through Dubai to leisure destinations including Bangkok and Krabi, Colombo, Kathmandu, the Maldives and Zanzibar. The airline’s wider network now runs to more than 120 destinations, and the three routes follow recent launches to Aleppo, Bangkok, Benghazi and Pokhara.
Getting there after you land
The new routes land at Terminal 3, and Terminal 3 is the easy arrival: its Red Line metro station is inside the terminal, so the cheapest ride in is also the simplest. Terminal 2, used by other carriers, has no metro station. See our Dubai airport to Downtown Dubai transfer guide for every option, priced and compared.
Metro Red LineCheapest
Direct from the Terminal 3 station to Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. Buy a Silver Nol card at the station machine.
Taxi
Cream colored, metered and the fastest door to door option. The meter starts at AED 20, or AED 25 for a van, and Salik tolls add AED 4 a gate.
Pre-booked transfer
A driver meets you in arrivals with a name board, worth it after a red eye or a late landing.
The full first hour: Dubai guide
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, plus where to stay in Dubai.
Where to stay, and getting back
For a Splurge, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, on Jumeirah Street in Umm Suqeim, is the sail shaped icon on its own island, suites only, with chauffeured transfers. For Mid-range, Rove Downtown, at 312 Al Mustaqbal Street, is a short walk from Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa, with a pool deck and a 24 hour gym. For Budget, ibis Mall Avenue Dubai, in Al Barsha 1 opposite Mall of the Emirates, is clean and reliable and right by a metro station.
For getting back to Terminal 3, the Red Line runs straight to the terminal station from Downtown and the Marina side of the city. A taxi covers the same trip door to door, and a pre-booked transfer fixes the price before you leave the hotel.
The first hour, sorted
Get an Airalo eSIM before you fly and you are online as the plane taxis in; Saily is the guide’s alternative. Note that some VoIP calling features are restricted in the UAE, so WhatsApp calls may not connect.
Pull dirhams from a bank ATM in arrivals, avoid the exchange booths, and always pay in AED when a card terminal offers a choice. Keep AED 50 to 100 in small notes for abras, souks and tips. Pick up a Silver Nol card at any metro station, AED 25 with AED 19 of credit.
For a first meal, the guide sends you to Ravi Restaurant in Al Satwa, a Pakistani legend since 1978: dal fry, chicken karahi and fresh naan. Book Burj Khalifa tickets before you fly; it is the difference between walking in and queuing for two hours.
Three more nonstop links between Dubai and Europe make the winter city break simpler in both directions. Browse the events calendar for what is on while you are in town, and use plan your trip to line up the days around the flights.
The souks, the food and the skyline at dawn, for the days around the trip.
Get the Dubai first hour checklist by email
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, in the Dubai guide PDF you can read on the plane.
The checklist, free, from After You Land.
What else is on
The events calendar tracks every guided city, strikes and stoppages included.
Events calendarLine up the rest
Plan your trip pulls the guide, the stays and the bookings for this trip into one place.
Plan your trip