20-05-2025
India, Pakistan flights: One-way ticket to UAE for Dh9,100 as expats rush back after ceasefire
Airfares from Pakistan and some Indian cities have seen a massive increase as UAE residents stuck in their home countries reschedule their return dates following the ceasefire between the two neighbours.
Travel agents in the UAE said they are witnessing a lot of enquiries and demands from the UAE residents who went to India and Pakistan for holidays before the military escalation and want to return early, fearing flights may be suspended again if the situation escalates.
Following the ceasefire initiated by US President Donald Trump, Pakistan and India has reopened airports and announced the resumption of flights.
Reschedule return date
Pakistani national Ijaz Khan, a businessman in the UAE, has been stuck in his home country due to the war.
'I'm trying to move ahead my return to the UAE during this ceasefire. I'm trying to arrange my return as soon as possible because I don't know what the situation will be with regard to commercial flights,' said Khan.
Saleem Akhtar, currently in Lahore on vacation and looking to return to the UAE, said airfares are quite high over the next few days only.
'Those people whose flights were cancelled over the past 3-4 days are rebooking now. Therefore, airfares have spiked this week till May 17. We see airfares on May 18 and beyond are normal,' he said.
Dh3,900 India-UAE one-way fare
One-way airfare from Delhi to Dubai for Monday flight on a full-fledged carrier reached Rs44,670 (Dh1,920) due to the closure of airports in the Indian Punjab during military escalation, resulting in a large number of residents opting to fly from Delhi airport. However, the one-way airfare drops steadily and will reach just around Dh910 by Friday.
Meanwhile, Delhi-Abu Dhabi airfares stood at Rs51,600 (Dh2,230) for Monday and Rs90,300 (Dh3,900) for Tuesday.
Meanwhile, airfare on a budget carrier on Delhi-Sharjah flights ranged between Dh1,360 and Dh1,180 over the next few days due to high demand.
Dh9,100 Pakistan-UAE one-way fare
Similarly, for Monday, Lahore to Dubai airfare on UAE carriers touched as high as nearly Rs700,000 (Dh9,100) but dropped to around Rs390,000 (Dh5,100) on Friday.
A local carrier website showed seats on Lahore-Abu Dhabi almost sold out till Wednesday due to heavy passenger traffic with airfares reaching Rs540,000 (Dh7,050).
Meanwhile, one-way airfares on Pakistani airlines reached around Dh2,350 for Monday and Tuesday.
Hundreds of flights from Pakistan were cancelled over the past few days due to the closure of airspace. This has created a massive backlog for the airlines to deal with.
If the ceasefire continues to hold, travel industry executives suggested that airfares will take at least 4-5 days to return to normal levels due to exceptionally high demand.
'There is a strong demand from people stuck in India and Pakistan because they want to return to the UAE as soon as possible,' said Mir Wasim Raja, manager of International Travel Services (ITS).
'Because of strong demand, airfares have gone up by 20 per cent as flights are operating at full capacity,' Raja told Khaleej Times in an interview.
Summer holiday rush
Avinash Adnani, partner at Neo Travel and Tourism, also confirmed that there are many inquiries from people stuck in India and Pakistan due to the military escalation.
'There were regular daily flights from Chandigarh and Amritsar airports to the UAE. However, due to the closure of airports in these two cities, passenger traffic has been diverted to Delhi. Therefore, airfares from Delhi to Dubai have rocketed,' said Adnani.
'In India, schools are closed, and people are waiting for clarity on the military situation. We hope the situation will be clearer in the next 48 hours.'
For Pakistan, the UAE and Pakistani carriers have resumed flights between the two countries as Pakistan reopened its airspace for commercial flights.
'Once Chandigarh and Amritsar airports reopen for commercial flights and UAE carriers begin full-scale operations to Pakistan, airfares are likely to normalise within a few days from the two countries,' he added.
