Flying to India after July 8? Fares drop to 'unusual lows'

MONSOON FEARS, SHORTER TRIPS, AND MORE FLIGHTS DRIVING PRICES DOWN

- BY DHANUSHA GOKULAN

Airfares from the UAE to India are dropping to "unusually low" levels for travel after July 8, with tickets as low as Dhl,161 to Mumbai, Dh1,604 to Bengaluru, and Dh1,565 to Thiruvananthapuram. This follows a brief fare surge during the first week of July, when prices ranged between Dh2,500 and Dh3,000 for the same cities.

"From now until July 7, onward fares to India are quite high, especially flights to Tier 2 cities. There are no seats available on flights to Kochi and Kozhikode in Kerala. Interestingly, after July 8, the fares have dropped to lows we haven't seen since the summer of 2021-2022," said Afi Ahmed, Chairman, Smart Travels.

Similar to post-Covid lows

According to Ahmed, airfares dropped to these lows for the last time immediately after the pandemic, when air travel confidence was at an all-time low amid Covid-induced travel restrictions.