UAE: Airfares to Double During Summer Break, Eid Al Adha Holidays
Airfares to popular destinations such as the Indian subcontinent, the UK, GCC and Egypt are set to jump further in the coming months ahead of the summer school holidays. Travel industry executives noted that airfares started rising from February-March to Asia, the Middle East and the UK as people are now planning their vacations well ahead.
They noted that fares to popular cities such as London are set to double during the peak summer travel days, especially during Eid Al Adha, which will be celebrated at the end of June. Inbound and outbound travel and tourism from the UAE has grown exponentially over the past year with residents looking to travel more, but airlines are still facing a capacity constraint. Air India has added some flights on the UAE route during the summer, providing temporary stability on certain days.
Travel peaks during the summer holidays when schools are closed, pushing airfares substantially higher. During summer breaks, Indian curriculum schools are usually closed in the first week of July. Since Eid Al Adha is likely to fall on June 28, some schools may choose to close a week or so early. While British schools are closed from June onwards till the last week of August or 1st week of September.
There has been up to 40 per cent rise in airfares on different airlines. Over the past few years, short-haul destinations such as East European and CIS countries have been in top demand for travel and tourism among UAE residents.
People starting booking early for airfares started increasing from February-March onwards on the Indian Sub-continent and European routes because Eid is also falling at the beginning of the vacation, hence, schools may close early this year.
