2024 EID AL FITR AIRFARES TO BE AT LEAST 30% HIGHER THAN 2023 LEVELS
Residents planning trips must book their tickets as soon as possible, say travel agents
Travellers in the UAE booking their air tickets at the very last minute this Eid Al Fitr may be in for a rude shock as airfares to major holiday hotspots are expected to skyrocket by an average of 30 per cent, compared to last year’s levels.
According to travel agents, flight costs have increased by a notable 23.8 per cent in the UK alone, while they have surged by a staggering 60.4 per cent in Germany.
“Eid Al Fitr in the UAE this year is expected to witness a jump in outbound air traffic, compared to last year’s Eid. We have observed nearly a four-fold increase in flight searches from the UAE for travel during Eid 2024, compared to Eid 2023,” said Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Business Officer of Wego. He added, “We forecast an even heightened interest later as more UAE travellers finalise their travel arrangements in the weeks or days leading up to the celebration.”
Eid is expected to fall on Wednesday, April 10, and travellers anticipate an extended break for the festive season this year.
SKY-HIGH AIRFARES
Return economy airfares for Dubai-London from April 8-14 are averaging Dh4,800, compared to Dh3,300 last year.
The cheapest Dubai to Mumbai fares for travel on the same dates are Dh2,121, compared to Dh875 a month ago and Dh1,750 last Eid. Fares to popular South Asian destinations such as Bangkok (Dh3,044) and Tokyo (Dh7,430) have also surged, compared to last year’s Dh1,790 and Dh4,270. The average airfare to the Philippines is Dh3,170 for Eid travel, compared to Dh895.56 in 2023.
Airfares to destinations in the United States average Dh4,710 (New York) and Dh6,110 (Chicago). Airfares to West Coast destinations are among the highest, including Dh6,760 (Los Angeles) and Dh6,860 (San Francisco).
“The good news is that a majority of travellers are planning their holiday in advance this year. We started receiving requests as early as January-end this year. This is also because the Eid holidays are coinciding with the school Spring Break,” said Shanawaz Khan, founder of Trips Away, a travel company specialising in Europe travel.
CONSISTENT DEMAND
According to Wego officials, demand has been consistent since the start of the year. International flight bookings from the UAE in February surpassed the same period last year by 70.1 per cent. This follows an extremely busy fourth quarter in 2023, thanks to Dubai hosting mega-events like COP28, the Dubai Airshow, and more. “Business travel has recovered, and leisure travel is at an all-time high,” said Afi Ahmad, Chairman of Smart Travels, UAE. The current peak in fares will remain until the end of April. There will be some relief in May and the first few weeks of June. The summer air travel demand will follow this in July-August,” said Ahmad.
INCREASED CAPACITIES
To cater to the high demand, airlines have also increased capacities considerably. Global airline capacity in Q2 2024 has surpassed that of Q2 2019, according to travel data provider OAG. “The capacity for Q2 2024 is up about 4 per cent over Q2 2019 for seats on international and domestic flights, with about 1.51 billion seats on the schedule compared to 1.45 billion seats,” said OAG’s John Grant.
Middle East airline capacities are up 3.6 per cent from 2019 and have grown 4.2 per cent from last year’s 62 million seats. In the second quarter of 2024, capacities are expected to hit 65 billion seats.
DEMAND FOR VISAS TOO
Officials at VFS Global have said they are witnessing a 15 per cent surge in visa applications in 2023 vis-a-vis 2022. “We have had a whopping 145 per cent growth since borders reopened post-pandemic,” said Monaz Billimoria, Regional Head — UAE, VFS Global.
Monaz said, “The demand for international travel has grown exponentially in the last two years, with the travel season extending beyond the traditional seasons of summer and winter. The difference between peak and trough is not extreme anymore. Demand is consistent throughout the year, and we have a super-peak period during the summer.”
“We have seen a huge surge in our visa applications, especially to the UK, where visa delivery delay times have also dropped to 15 days,” she added.
To cater to the high demand, the company has set up pop-up kiosks.
“Throughout 2023, we received at least 1,000 applications in these centres. During Ramadan, we will offer extended customer touchpoints for UK applicants, operating at extended hours,” she said.