Residents flying out of the country for Eid al-Adha holidays

With thousands of residents flying out of the country for Eid al-Adha holidays, there is considerable pressure for seats on flights mainly to the subcontinent and Middle East, from Wednesday.Most outbound flights to Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are booked to capacity for a few days from November 25, sources said yesterday.

Qatar Airways and Egypt Air are operating extra flights to Cairo because of the heavy demand during Eid holidays. Even those flights have already been fully booked, they said.Economy seats are not available on flights to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, The Philippines and Singapore for three to four days from Arafat Day, it is learnt.A few business class seats are however available to certain destinations in the subcontinent.

There is heavy rush on flights to Dubai and London Heathrow and Paris as well. The flights to Saudi Arabia are already packed with Haj pilgrims.Unlike in the previous years, carriers are not operating extra services to countries other than Egypt and Saudi Arabia because of what they termed “already available extra capacity.Most Gulf-based carriers are now operating daily flights to several destinations in these countries.

Inbound flights from these countries are nearly full until about December 10, sources said.
Interestingly, most carriers are maintaining their fares even during the peak Eid period.
Syed Ansari, manager of Safari Tours and Travels said, Most airlines have adopted a flexible policy, allowing passengers to book seats early at lower fares with reasonable time limit for travel. This has triggered demand for seats in many sectors.