Pakistan-UAE flights: Tax reduced on blue-collar workers’ air tickets

Currently, five Pakistani and four UAE carriers operate between the two countries

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Published: Mon 12 Aug 2024, 8:37 AM

Last updated: Mon 12 Aug 2024, 9:12 PM

The Pakistani government has revised down its federal excise duty on airfares for blue-collar workers flying to the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

A notification issued by the Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan stated that a fixed amount of Rs5,000 (Dh66) per ticket will be collected “from the passengers holding labour visa printed on their passports duly verified by the Protector of Emigrants (Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment) embarking on an international journey from Pakistan to Gulf Co-operation Council Countries (GCC).”

This is significantly lower than the previous tax of Rs12,500 (Dh165), according to a notification sent out by flydubai to its travel partners. The new tax came into effect on August 10, 2024.

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The Dubai-based carrier stated that those who hold a labour visa sticker, pasted on their passport; have the visa verified by the Protector of Emigrants (Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment of Pakistan); and embark on an international journey from Pakistan to a GCC country, will be eligible for lower airfares.

“This reduced fee is strictly applicable to passengers with verified labour visas travelling to GCC countries,” it said.

“Flydubai complies with the regulations and guidelines issued by the local authorities,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Khaleej Times.

Currently, five Pakistani and four UAE carriers operate between the two countries.

The UAE-Pakistan air corridor has been one of the busiest due to the large number of South Asian nationals living here. Airfares in UAE-Pakistan are usually on the higher side already due to a shortage of seat availability. A three-hour flight from Pakistani cities to UAE is usually costlier than the same-hour flights from neighbouring countries.

The decision to levy fixed federal excise duty comes as the Pakistan government increased duty on Business Class air tickets by Rs30,000 to Rs105,000 to UAE, GCC and other Middle Eastern countries from July 1, 2024.

Over the past few years, there has been a mass exodus of people from the South Asian country due to a lack of jobs, high inflation and political instability forcing them to look for jobs outside of the country.

The GCC countries include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. This region houses the highest number of Pakistani diaspora.

In 2023-24, the GCC countries were the top destinations as a total of 862,625 people of the South Asian community went abroad globally for livelihood.

Saudi Arabia was the top destination as 426,951 Pakistanis went to the kingdom for jobs, the data showed, which was published in Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24.

Around 1.7 million South Asian nationals live and work in the UAE. In 2023-24, 230,000 Pakistanis migrated to the UAE for greener pastures.

Oman employed 60,046 Pakistani workers, accounting for 7 per cent, while Qatar offered jobs to 55,112 individuals. Bahrain and Malaysia hosted 13,345 and 20,905 workers, respectively.

More than 13.53 million Pakistanis have gone abroad through official procedures to work in over 50 countries until April 2024. About 96 per cent of Pakistani registered workers for overseas employment are in GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They contribute to the development of Pakistan's economy by sending remittances, the primary source of foreign exchange after exports.

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