Flights fill up fast as UAE residents take advantage of Eid break

About 70.5million passengers streamed through the sparkling halls of Dubai's main airport last year. The rapid growth puts Dubai airport ahead of London Heathrow for the first time as the world's busiest international airport. Kamran Jebrelli / AP PhotoShow less

ABU DHABI // Residents are taking full advantage of the Eid Al Adha break, with one local airline saying flights out of the country had increased by about 65 per cent.

Emirates said it was expecting more than 300,000 passengers to fly out of the country later this month, with the busiest day being Friday, with more than 76,000 people booked on flights.

The Eid Al Adha break for staff at all government ministries and federal bodies will begin next Wednesday, with work resuming the following Sunday. Private sector workers also start their holiday on Wednesday, returning on the Saturday.

Despite the surge in traffic, local travel agencies reported a decline in people travelling to locations in central and south-east Europe, the Balkans, Germany and Austria.

Agencies said the decrease in travel, compared to Eid Al Fitr, and Eid Al Adha last year, was noticeable.

“Even though we’ve been promoting Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia, there has been a significant decline compared with the last holiday,” said Naresh Ramachandran, business development manager at Salem Travel Agency.

The drop in popularity among UAE travellers correlates with a drop in flights to Venice, a traditional take-off point for travel to central and south-eastern Europe.

“We offered travellers packages as low as Dh2,900 to Venice but people still would not want to go,” said Mary Thomas, Salem Travel’s managing director.

Other agencies have also noticed a pattern.

“Normally we see Germany, Austria, and Italy doing very well, but people seem to be avoiding the unrest in those regions,” said Conrad Caeiro, operations manager at Omeir Travel Agency.

Europe is currently facing a refugee crisis with more than 320,000 migrants having crossed into the region this year.

The bulk of the migrants are Syrians escaping war in their home country.

The busy holiday period is set to continue until September 28, Emirates said, with Dhaka, Mumbai, Karachi, Cairo and London among the most popular destinations.

Jeddah will also be popular this Eid Al Adha, with thousands of pilgrims travelling to Mecca for Haj.

Emirates said about 20,000 pilgrims were expected to travel to Mecca on its flights.

Earlier this week, Mohammed Al Marzouqi, who is in charge of Haj operations at Dubai International Airport, urged pilgrims to arrive four hours before departure time and six hours for their return flight from Saudi, where procedures and queues are longer.

Abu Dhabi Airports is also expecting an increase in traffic, with Jeddah in particular being one of the most popular options.

Among the changes in people’s taste that have been noted, agencies said more flights were being booked for Georgia and Sri Lanka - although London, Paris and Bangkok remain firm favourites.

“These are close destinations which accommodate the shorter Eid holiday, and their visa policies are more open,” Mr Ramachandran said.

Georgia recently amended its visa policy, now allowing all UAE residents, including those without official passports but who fly with travel documents, a visa on arrival.

In all, said Mr Caeiro, the agency expected more bookings to be made this Eid.

However, many residents have opted for holidays within the country - a silver lining for some local businesses.

“Many people cancelled their trips as they were expecting a longer Eid holiday, but this has benefited domestic travel as many hotels and resorts in the northern Emirates are at full capacity,” he said.

And with Abu Dhabi Airports also forecasting a rise in people coming into the UAE for Eid Al Adha, people should be hasty in booking their accommodation.

“We also see an increase in the number of arriving passengers, with many tourists from around the GCC coming to enjoy the emirate’s hotels and cultural attractions,” said Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operating officer at Abu Dhabi Airports.