Dubai: Flights to popular travel destinations are booked out this week as UAE citizens and resident look to get away for the National Day break.
Private sector employees are off work on Tuesday, National Day; while public sector employees have been given off from Tuesday until Thursday, December 4.
Return flights between Dubai and Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi and Istanbul departing on Monday night and returning Saturday on local carriers Emirates, flydubai and Etihad are fully booked this week.
Airfares are up in line with the annual holiday season ahead of Christmas and New Year, which is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, said Micky Bhatia, general manager at Al Futtaim Travel, by phone on Sunday.
Return flights between Dubai and Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi and Istanbul departing on Monday night and returning Saturday on local carriers Emirates, flydubai and Etihad are booked out this week, according to each airline’s website.
“Istanbul is the hot destination,” Bhatia said.
Flight search engine Cleartrip.ae showed return flights departing on Monday night and returning on Saturday between Sharjah and Istanbul on Air Arabia starting from Dh3,326. Turkish Airlines had return airfares starting at Dh4,400 for its early Tuesday morning flight from Dubai. In comparison, airfares for the same schedule the following week are roughly half the price, according to ClearTrip.ae.
“For some reason, the entire UAE has been quite well focused on Istanbul. It gives you a mix of the Middle East and Europe and at the same time it’s not very expensive,” he added.
Bhatia said Istanbul remains an attractive destination for many families this National Day break despite it being winter. There are forecasts for rain in Istanbul with lows of 7 degrees and highs of 13.
Thailand has also been a popular destination this week.
A search of the Emirates website showed flights departing Dubai from Wednesday sold out as well as services returning from Bangkok to Dubai on Saturday.
Airfares from Abu Dhabi to Phuket in Thailand are roughly twice the price this week on Etihad Airways compared to those travelling between December 9 and December 13.
“We have a lot of people taking spa packages to Koh Samui,” Bhatia said.
Malaysia remains a popular year-round destination for UAE citizens and residents while Indonesia and Vietnam are surprisingly popular this week, Bhatia said.
