Airfares to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have gone through the roof with many Gulf nations declaring five to seven days of Eid holidays beginning April 30.
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who were planning to fly down and celebrate the festival that marks the end of Ramzan with their families back home will have to bear the brunt as airline companies jacked up the prices of air tickets. “ I think the aviation industry pushed the fares to compensate for the loss it incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Mohammed Hashim who is based in Sharjah.
The selling price of the one-way economy class ticket in the Dubai/Abu Dhabi- Kochi/ Kozhikode/ Thiruvananthapuram sectors is below Rs 20,000. But now a ticket is sold in the range between Rs 40,000 and Rs 75,000. The rates are high on April 29 and 30.
Dubai- based Emirates, one of two flag carriers of the UAE, has priced the Dubai - Kochi economy class ticket at Rs 59,958.54 and Rs 72,406 on April 29 and 30. The lowest price for an outbound ticket in the business class is Rs 95,850 and that of the first class, Rs 1.58 lakh on April 30.
Even the low-cost airline, Air Arabia is charging Rs 47,376 on an economy class ticket from Sharjah to Kochi on April 29. The price is Rs 37,435 in the same sector, the next day.
The tariffs for the Dubai- Thiruvananthapuram economy class ticket in Emirates are Rs 50,829 and Rs 71,161 on April 28 and April 29 respectively.
The fare for the Air India Express in Abu Dhabi- Kozhikode non-stop flight is Rs 33,400 while for Air India in the same sector is Rs 40, 200.
On Friday, no direct flights are available between Dubai and Kozhikode on Air India. An available eight-hour-long flight via Mumbai is priced at Rs 1.7 lakh.
Etihad Airways, the second flag carrier airline of the UAE, is offering flight tickets in the Abu Dhabi - Kochi flight sector at the rate of Rs 46,600 on April 29. However, the asking price is Rs 38,400 till May 4.
The economy class fares for the Jeddah – Kozhikode flight in IndiGo are Rs 48,416 and Rs 42,166 on April 29 and April 30 respectively. And the tariff for Riyadh- Kozhikode sector in Air India Express is Rs 40,00 and Rs 35, 275 on April 29 and April 30 respectively.
The Ministry of Human Resources in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain declared a nine-day holiday for Eid Al Fitr while the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in Saudi Arabia announced a four-day Eid Al-Fitr holidays for the private and non-profit sectors in the Kingdom.
