High air ticket prices disrupt travel plans, vacations of Filipino helpers

High air ticket prices disrupt travel plans, vacations of Filipino helpers

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: Filipino domestic helpers are delaying their vacations to return to their families due to a steep rise in airfare to the Philippines. The cheapest tickets to Manila these days are around KD 670, reaching up to KD 3,435. Many domestic helpers are complaining their annual vacations are already long overdue, but their employers do not want to buy the pricey tickets.

Travel agencies told Kuwait Times that prices of airline tickets to Manila from Kuwait will only fall to pre-pandemic levels once the Philippine government allows airline companies to add more capacity or removes the travel quota. Currently, the Philippines allows only 2,500 passengers daily, up from 1,500 in April and 2,000 passengers in May.

Speaking to Kuwait Times, Dadabhai Travel Agency Brand Manager Paulita Lundang said the spike in airfares to Manila is due to the quota implemented by the Philippine government, adding thousands of Kuwaiti employers are complaining about the incredible amounts they have to spend to send their domestic helpers to the Philippines.

“We cannot do anything about the price of airline tickets. I think the airlines also want to reduce their fares, but they cannot do so easily, as they also have to pay their pilots