With airfares from the UAE to the Indian subcontinent at their lowest level this year, now is the perfect time to travel. A one-way ticket could cost as low as Dh300.
The 'attractive' ticket prices coincide with the end of summer's peak travel season.
In India, however, fares are expected to increase later this month ahead of the holiday season. They are set to peak by the middle of next month, around the Hindu festival Diwali which will be celebrated from October 24.
According to Pluto Travels' managing director, Avinash Adnani, air traffic between the UAE and the Indian subcontinent is very low since most tourists have already returned home from their summer vacations.
The best time to travel to India is now. A one-way ticket costs around Dh300 to certain Indian cities, while return tickets are at around Dh1,000. The next 15 days are good for travel as airfares are at the lowest level of the year,” said Adnani.
As of now, a one-way flight from Dubai to the Pakistani city of Karachi costs less than Dh400.
According to Adnani, airfares to India will peak around the middle of October, after starting to rise at the end of September.
There will be a drop in airfares in mid-November and prices will stabilize again. After that, the airfares will stay on the higher side due to National Day and the year-end holiday season,” he added.
According to Raja Mir Wasim, manager of Galadari International Travel Services, current airfares remain high compared with the last two pandemic years. At that time, the demand was low due to Covid-related restrictions and residents were also wary of getting stranded abroad.
The air fares are lower than peak seasons, but they are still higher than the previous two years. It’s a good time to travel. Travel and airfares will pick up again during the UAE National Day holidays as UAE residents are planning and gearing up for the next long break,” Wasim said.
India and Pakistan are the two major source markets for the UAE's travel and tourism industry. According to Abu Dhabi Airports, the top two countries in terms of passenger volumes during the first half of 2022 were India (1.28 million) and Pakistan (485,000).
For the first half, India was Dubai International Airport's top destination country by passenger numbers, with traffic reaching four million passengers - primarily driven by Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. Pakistan, on the other hand, was among the top 10 destinations with 1.7 million passengers.