Flight Charges From GULF Countries Skyrockets as The Holiday Season in UAE Starts

The holiday season in the UAE starts with Eid-ul-Adha celebrations, which also marks summer holidays for schools. June-end to July sees fare hike from the Middle East to India, barring a few days in the middle of the week, the reverse fare hike starts in the middle of August when it’s time for expatriates to go back as the summer holiday season ends.

This Eid-ul-Adha has seen a sharp hike in airfares from the UAE to Mangalore and all other destinations in India. The fares are also high in the first fortnight of July, thereafter it goes down to half. The Mangalore-Dubai fares surge after the second week of August and continue till month-end.

However, according to airlines, fares have not been a deterrent to travellers since all flights are going full in the holiday season and occupancy is more than 80% during non-peak times. Airline sources here indicate that all flights, be it from Dubai, Dammam, Muscat, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jeddah, are showing close to full occupancy.

International flights operating from Mangalore includes two daily flights to Dubai by Air India Express (AIE) and four weekly flights by IndiGo; four weekly flights to Dammam, three weekly flights to Muscat, two weekly flights each to Doha and Bahrain and one weekly flight each to Kuwait and Jeddah — all by AIE. Though the AED vs exchange rate has gone up by 15% from Rs 19.8 to Rs 22.7 in the last three years, the airline fares have seen almost 100% to 200% increase.