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Demand for one-way tickets from the Middle East has seen little change in recent weeks, local airlines have claimed, despite suggestions that thousands are planning to leave the region.
Arabian Business spoke to four major carriers in the region on Tuesday, all of which reported no recent increase in single fare purchases.
"We do not provide a detailed breakdown on our ticket sales, but we can confirm that the number of one-way tickets being booked out of the region is no different than in previous years – accounting for less than 1% of total bookings," a spokesperson for Dubai-based Emirates said.
Etihad Airways said it had not experienced any noticeable increase in demand for one-way tickets out of Abu Dhabi, while Royal Jordanian insisted traffic flows were normal.
Meanwhile, a Gulf Air spokesperson also said there was nothing unusual to report for single-fare outbound traffic from Bahrain.
When called by Arabian Business, no one from Qatar Airways was available to comment.
Rising school fees and job losses in the UAE fuelled speculation that thousands of mainly western expatriates would leave the country this summer. In May, removal companies based in the emirate told Arabian Business they were overwhelmed with bookings for June. They also said the number of people relocating to the UAE had fallen dramatically.
The timing coincided with schools breaking up for the summer – a period when many expatriates hit by redundancies were expected to return home.
“The rise of people leaving the country has been on a tremendous scale,” said Jason Tom James, sales manager of ISS Worldwide Movers relocation department.
“Most of the people have lost their jobs. For the month of June we are already full because that’s when the schools close. This year we have seen tremendously large traffic moving out of the country, we can’t accommodate [the flood of business] even with the strength of our staff numbers,” he added.
While the number of western expatriates leaving the region is unknown, Indian authorities claim the economic downturn has seen up to 150,000 of their countrymen return home.
Vayalar Ravi, minister for overseas Indian affairs, told the country’s lower house this month that delays in construction projects had forced between 50,000 to 150,000 people to go home on unpaid leave. He added that job cuts in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar had taken place.
“Information received from Indian Missions in Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Brunei, Libya, Jordan and Lebanon indicate that there is no report of Indians affected by the recession,” Ravi was quoted by the Financial Express as saying.
The Indian embassy in the UAE had no precise figures of returnees, but indicated that the number was considerably large, according to the IANS newswire.
There are many more British expats who have been in the UAE for more than 30 years and who along with Indian businessmen have contributed enormously to... more
Thursday, 23 May 2013 12:29 PM - Sue-SharynTo be fair, it is not that difficult to mix Dakar and Dhaka up. Those travelling to the US for the first time may very likely get confused between Santa... more
Thursday, 23 May 2013 11:29 AM - BilalThese headline chasing measures do not address the fundamental issues that are causing Bahrain to fall apart. Next will be some tougher legislation on... more
Thursday, 23 May 2013 12:28 PM - BillyAs much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty SayLet me put the entire issue in perspective. There are massive traffic problems on the roads of Kuwait, where Kuwait can boast high road fatalities and... more
Tuesday, 21 May 2013 1:28 PM - AbdullahThere are many more British expats who have been in the UAE for more than 30 years and who along with Indian businessmen have contributed enormously to... more
Thursday, 23 May 2013 12:29 PM - Sue-SharynHappy employees, happy customers. Quite simple actually. 60,000 unhappy staff, well, you do the math on how many unhappy customers can result from poor... more
Monday, 20 May 2013 10:27 AM - Louie TedescoAs much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty SayLet me put the entire issue in perspective. There are massive traffic problems on the roads of Kuwait, where Kuwait can boast high road fatalities and... more
Tuesday, 21 May 2013 1:28 PM - Abdullah
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