New Year travel: Fares into UAE for final week of 2023 are now at record highs, Heathrow-Dubai hits Dh5,313

New Year travel: Fares into UAE for final week of 2023 are now at record highs, Heathrow-Dubai hits Dh5,313

Dubai: Flying into the UAE for an action-packed last week of 2023 from the UK – or for that matter from anywhere in the world – is hitting record highs.

Not surprising given that inward demand to the UAE has been running close to its peak for much of December and is now heading for an unprecedented high for the days from Christmas through to the New Year.

"The current fares represent the highest for UAE-bound flights this year, with rates at least 10-15 per cent higher than ticket prices in 2019 (the year before the Covid disruption)," said Mehar Sawlani, Director of Sales at Richmond Gulf Tourism.

How much do UK-Dubai tickets cost?

For example, a one-way Economy fare from London Heathrow to Dubai is at Dh5,313 from December 22. That’s in contrast to Dh4,755 on average for return airfares on the same route during this year’s peak summer travel.

One-way London-Dubai airfares in 2019 averaged Dh3,700 to Dh4,000.

Wasim Ansari, Managing Director of Travel Square Tourism, said, "For many travelers, the current fares make it very expensive for any last minute trip plans.”

Dubai recorded 954,000 visitors from the UK between January to October, marking it the second-largest