The airline’s launch has been consistently delayed throughout 2007.

In June, the company lost its second chief executive officer in four months when Kishu Teckchandani departed only weeks into the job.

Khaled Almeer. chief operating officer, has been in temporary charge since, but his position has not been made permanent.

The new carrier will also launch with flights to Colombo, Sofia and Dhaka, and aims to launch routes to cities in India, Nepal, Qatar and Tanzania within three months.

The airline will begin operations with one Boeing 757 and two more aircraft - either Boeing 737-800s or Airbus A320s - by the end of the year.

RAK Airways aims to have 10 aircraft flying to 20 destinations by 2010.