Eid flights sold out!

Travel agents generally said airfares had not been high this Eid but residents trying to travel home or for a holiday had struggled to find a seat.

Alpha Travel and Holidays general manager Fabian Fernandes said flight seats began selling quickly as soon as Ramadan started with residents predicting a 30-day holy month. “They’ve been sold out,” Fernandes said. “As soon as they knew when Eid would fall, Thursday, Friday and Saturday flights have been fully booked.” Fernandes said flight bookings on Eid holidays had always been difficult, especially on Eid Al Fitr. “It’s not just leisure. Some people are going home to visit their family, such as Europe, so even those flights are full,” he said.

Lama Desert Tours and Cruises managing partner Kulwant Singh confirmed his agency had seen a similar scenario with airfares reasonable but seat availability low. “After summer there’s generally a drop in airfares till winter,” Singh said.

“But seats and availability are a little less this Eid.”

Al Rais Travel Holidays manager Munir Sherwani said residents had booked Eid Al Fitr trips particularly early this year as the holiday had fallen close to summer.

“No more seats are available for Eid this year because bookings came in early,” he said. Airlines also confirmed full flights this Eid Al Fitr.

An Emirates spokesperson said the airline had seen a boost in sales with Eid approaching.

“With Eid round the corner, our bookings have registered a 10 to 15 per cent increase,” she said.

Travel agents have generally reported closer destinations to be preferred for short getaways during Eid but the Emirates spokesperson said even long-haul destinations were proving popular. The most popular destinations for travel during the Eid holidays are Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus, Jeddah, Pakistan and India. We have also recorded a noticeable increase in bookings to long-haul destinations.”

Air Arabia spokesperson Housam Raydan said there were high load factors this Eid.

“All through the summer we’ve witnessed high load factors and especially on special occasions like Eid,” Raydan said.

Raydan said local trips were popular with people returning to their home country often to visit family during Eid.