Airfares soar as travellers search for last-minute Eid breaks

Airfares to some of the most popular Eid destinations have doubled as UAE residents plan to travel during the holiday season.

Eid Al Fitr is expected to begin on Friday if the Moon is sighted. Workers begin their holidays tomorrow.

Dubai’s Rooh Tourism sold all of its Eid holiday packages last month, said operational director Libin Varghese.

“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.

An economy- class one- way ticket on Emirates airline to Islamabad, Pakistan, usually costs Dh1,000 ($272) or less during the off-season.

The price during Eid week is currently more than Dh2,000.

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

Mr Varghese said a return ticket to Georgia is usually Dh800, but will now cost more than Dh2,000. He said it was cheaper to fly from Abu Dhabi than from Dubai.

Flight price comparison portal Skyscanner said almost 50 per cent of UAE travellers are searching for short trips of a week or less.

“With Eid approaching, travellers from the Middle East are prioritising quality time to spend with family and friends abroad,” said Ayoub El Mamoun of Skyscanner.

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

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

She said she paid Dh15,150 for Emirates tickets, which would have cost “much less” outside peak season.

“Ticket prices are skyrocketing 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, because she has not been there since the coronavirus pandemic began 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.

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 tomorrow for flights until Sunday.

The cost of a one-way flight to Pakistan’s capital has doubled for the holiday season