Gulf News reports that, despite stabilising flight operations, UAE residents are deferring leisure travel as regional tensions and elevated oil prices keep airfares stubbornly high. Travel agencies interviewed on 27 July 2026 say demand is now dominated by urgent family visits and “visa-run” journeys to renew visit or employment permits. Average economy-class tickets to London exceed AED 2,800, while Southeast Asia fares approach AED 5,000—30–40 per cent above typical off-peak prices. Airlines attribute the surge to fuel-cost spikes and the need to reroute around restricted Gulf airspace, adding flight-time and crew costs. Business travel, by contrast, remains resilient as corporations rely on Dubai’s connectivity, but many are switching to flexible tickets and remote-meeting hybrids to hedge against sudden cancellations. Travel-management companies recommend booking fully refundable fares or using regional stopovers such as Muscat to build slack into itineraries. The shift is reshaping agency revenues: visa-change packages—short hops to nearby countries to reset entry permits—now account for a growing share of bookings. Mobility managers should ensure employees understand new overstay-fine rules and secure return tickets and hotel vouchers to avoid refusal at UAE immigration checkpoints. With back-to-school travel due in late August, agents expect fares to ease only after mid-September, provided geopolitics stabilise and EASA downgrades its conflict-zone warning. Until then, cost-conscious travellers are likely to combine trips or drive to neighbouring Oman, underscoring the importance of agile travel policies.
Source: Gulf News
