Heavy blow to UAE NRIs despite three holidays in December first week

DUBAI: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in UAE announced on Friday a holiday for the private sector in the country from December 2 to 4 in connection with the UAE National Day. A leave with pay has been announced. This is the time when most people prepare plan to travel home, mostly to India.

But airfares are skyrocketing. Travel to India and the US will cost 15-30 per cent more than September airfares. Ticket prices to some destinations have doubled compared to September.

For example, while economy fares ranged from AED 875 to AED 2,530 a month ago, reports suggest an average of AED 1,482 to AED 3,805 for travel between November 28 and December 3. While ticket prices to most airports in India have gone up sharply, ticket prices to destinations like Europe remain unchanged. Meanwhile, there may be an additional 10-15 per cent increase considering the arriving Christmas and New Year holidays.