UAE fares to stay high
Gulf News warns airfares from the UAE will likely remain elevated for months because strong travel demand, high jet‑fuel costs, and limited seat capacity are keeping pricing pressure in place. That means booking early or being flexible on dates could be the only practical ways to avoid premium fares this summer. (gulfnews.com)
A Dubai-to-London ticket that cost about Dh2,200 in early February is now around Dh4,000, and a Dubai-to-Mumbai fare that was near Dh900 has climbed to roughly Dh1,500 as April bookings tighten. (gulfnews.com) The squeeze is coming from three places at once: more people want to fly, airlines are paying more for fuel, and there are not enough seats to spread demand across. Gulf News reported on April 10 that aviation executives expect this pressure to last for months, not days. (gulfnews.com) Fuel is the fastest-moving part of the bill. The International Air Transport Association said the global average jet fuel price rose 7.1 percent in the latest week to $209 a barrel, which gives airlines little room to discount tickets. (iata.org) The passenger side is just as intense. Dubai International handled 95.2 million travelers in 2025, up 3.1 percent from 2024, and Dubai Airports called it the highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded by any airport. (media.dubaiairports.ae) That matters because Dubai is not a niche airport serving one country. It is a giant transfer hub, so when traffic stays near record highs across Europe, South Asia, and the Gulf, price pressure shows up on a huge share of routes at once. (media.dubaiairports.ae) Airlines also cannot add planes as quickly as they used to. Emirates says it still relies on Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 wide-body jets while the industry waits for delayed aircraft deliveries, and President Tim Clark said supply-chain problems have held back growth. (emirates.com, youtube.com) When planes are late, airlines protect the seats they already have. That is why the cheapest fare buckets disappear first, and the last few seats get sold at prices far above winter levels instead of being dumped at a discount. (gulfnews.com) The calendar is making it worse, not better. April bookings are colliding with early summer planning, school-holiday traffic, and heavy demand on leisure routes to India, the United Kingdom, and Europe, which means travelers are shopping for the same dates at the same time. (gulfnews.com) There is no sign yet of a quick fuel reset either. In the United States market, Airlines for America listed jet fuel at $4.16 a gallon on April 8, showing how elevated fuel costs remain across the industry even outside the Gulf. (airlines.org) So the practical workaround is boring and expensive in its own way: buy earlier, shift your travel by a few days, or fly at less popular hours. Gulf News said those are now the main ways UAE travelers can dodge the premium that comes with booking late into a market that is already close to full. (gulfnews.com)
