Eid Al Fitr: Steep rise in airfares as demand soars

More UAE residents are looking to travel this holiday season as Covid-19 restrictions ease globally

Emirates has added 23 flights to its Eid holiday schedule. Photo: Emirates

Airfares to some of the most popular Eid destinations have doubled in the UAE, as more residents look to travel during the holiday season.

Eid Al Fitr is expected to begin on April 21 if the Moon is sighted. And with more and more Covid-19 pandemic restrictions lifting globally, more people are choosing to travel.

Libin Varghese, operational director of Rooh Tourism in Dubai, said that his company sold all of their Eid holiday packages at the end of last month.

"This year all the markets are open and everything free from Covid restrictions, so demands are high," he said.

He said that Pakistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Armenia and Switzerland were among some of the most popular destinations. And most are only four to five hours away from the UAE.

Peak pricing

An economy-class one-way ticket on Emirates Airline to Islamabad, Pakistan, usually goes for about Dh1,000 or less during the off-season.

Prices during this Eid week, however, are currently more than Dh2,000.

A one-way ticket from Abu Dhabi to the Maldives on Etihad is between Dh500 to Dh550, except for April 20, when the price rockets to Dh3,350.

Mr Varghese said the usual prices for return tickets to and from places like Georgia is Dh800, but now they are more than Dh2,000.

He said it was cheaper to fly from Abu Dhabi than Dubai.

Flight price comparison portal Skyscanner said almost 50 per cent of UAE travellers are searching for trips that are a week long or less during the Eid period.

"With Eid approaching, travellers from the Middle East are planning their trips to make the most out of their time and prioritising quality time to spend with family and friends abroad, and with so many great places to choose from, the options can be overwhelming," said Ayoub El Mamoun, a travel expert at Skyscanner.

The company said the 10 most-searched countries from the UAE were: India, the UK, Egypt, Philippines, Italy, Indonesia, the US, Maldives, Thailand and Pakistan.

Dubai resident Dr Javairia Hassan is travelling to Islamabad with her husband, two children and parents to spend Eid holidays with their extended family.

She said she paid Dh15,150 for Emirates flight tickets — a cost that would have been "much less" if it was not during peak season.

"Ticket prices are sky rocketing this time of the year," she said.

"We always fly with Emirates and we spent almost the same that we did on our UK trip recently."

But travelling to her home country was important for Dr Hassan this year, who has not been there since the pandemic hit in 2020.

"It’s absolutely a peace of mind that after so long we can easily fly whenever we want, especially on Eid," she said.

"Eid is naturally the best time for reunions with family and enjoy some seasonal meals.

"Our plan is to spend some quality time with family and friends."

On April 8, Dubai's low-cost airline flydubai announced a flash sale to 20 destinations, just in time for the holidays. It runs until April 20 for flights between April 15 and 23.

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