UAE flights: Airfares soar by 50% as stranded residents hope to return

Dubai - Passengers who have arrived in the UAE or planned their trips before August 10 have shelled way higher amounts.

Airfares from India and Pakistan have soared exponentially as UAE residents stranded in these two countries make a beeline to return to the Emirates.

Since the announcement, ticket prices have increased by at least 50 per cent on all available routes from India and Pakistan to the UAE, said travel agents.

A non-stop, one-way, economy ticket from Cochin, Kerala, to Dubai, UAE, which was usually available for Dh700-Dh850, is now being sold for Dh1,050-Dh1100.

Likewise, airfare for an economy class, one way between Mumbai in India to Dubai, UAE, is being sold for upwards of Dh1,300.

These are tentative airfares for the week starting August 12 and beyond. However, passengers who have arrived in the UAE or planned their trips before August 10 have shelled way higher amounts.

“I am taking a flight from Mumbai on August 9, and I have paid Dh6,500 for this,” said Shruti K., a resident of Dubai, who had been stranded in her hometown in India since her last visit in April.

Likewise, airfare for flights from various cities in Pakistan is being sold for remarkably high airfares.

An economy class ticket, non-stop, from Islamabad to Dubai is going for Dh2,300 and above. The same ticket for travel in November this year is around Dh800 — a difference of whopping more than 180 per cent.

An economy-class ticket from Karachi to Dubai, which would normally be available for Dh600-Dh650, one way, is now being sold for Dh1,200 and above, almost double the price.

suneeti@khaleejtimes.com