Rush to reach UAE before 10-day ban, fares cross ₹1L

Rush to reach UAE before 10-day ban, fares cross ₹1L

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:24.04.2021

The scramble to reach the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before the Saturday-Sunday midnight deadline saw most flights from India headed there going near full on Friday and fares have skyrocketed. The tickets for the Delhi-Dubai one-way flights for Saturday were between Rs 46,000 and Rs 1,08,000 against the usual Rs 8,000-10,000.

Both UAE and Indian carriers fly between several cities here and four there — Dubai (the biggest international destination for Indians), Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.

“People eligible to go — with a RT-PCR test done from recognised labs within last 48 hours and a negative report — are booking flights to beat the deadline. The fear is that the 10-day ban on entry of travellers from India from April 25 to May 4 may be extended,” said an airline official. The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has already said this period “may be extended”.

Charter flights and private jets are allowed during this period. Charter firm JetSetGo chief executive and founder Kanika Tekriwal said, “There are over applications with the UAE authorities from various operators to bring people from India.” While hiring an Airbus A320/Boeing 737 type aircraft costs around Rs 40 lakh for a Delhi-UAE-Delhi trip, smaller business jets cost Rs 8-10 lakh less, said industry honchos.

UAE nationals, diplomatic and official passport holders and those holding an official delegation letter are exempted from the restriction, subject to acceptance and quarantine conditions.