UAE travel from Estonia plunges as airlines cut Dubai flights
The number of people traveling to the United Arab Emirates has fallen dramatically since the start of the military conflict between the United States and Iran, said travel agent Mauri Saarend.
"The number of travelers has certainly fallen dramatically. At Estravel, the number of travelers who have purchased some form of service for the United Arab Emirates this year has fallen 77 percent compared with the same period last year, essentially reaching levels last seen during the COVID-19 pandemic," Saarend told ERR.
Several airlines, including Finnair, SAS and Norwegian, have announced that they will not operate flights to Dubai this winter season.
Saarend acknowledged that European airlines have indeed canceled flights to Dubai. At the same time, he said Qatar Airways has already begun operating its own flights from Helsinki to Doha, the capital of the UAE's neighboring country Qatar, while Emirates flights from Helsinki to Dubai are on sale from October.
"Flydubai is also expected to return to both Riga and Vilnius in December. AirBaltic's flights from Riga also remain on the schedule for now. Turkish Airlines, the airline most commonly used by Estonian travelers flying to the Middle East, resumed its routes to both Abu Dhabi and Dubai some time ago," Saarend said.
According to Saarend, charter flights from Estonia to the United Arab Emirates have not been a significant factor in recent years, while the few package tours available have generally used scheduled flights with connections.
He added that sales of package tours to the United Arab Emirates at Estravel have been negligible compared with sales of tickets for scheduled flights.
Among tour operators, Tez Tour is offering package tours to Dubai for the winter, he said, and those packages are also available through Estravel.
"But in general, when it comes to Dubai, buying flights and accommodations separately offers significant savings and much greater flexibility in travel dates. This is especially true now, as several hotels there are offering substantial discounts to attract customers.
"We can also put together a customized trip for independent travelers without any difficulty," Saarend said.
"I would also point out that undoubtedly the most affordable way to visit the United Arab Emirates is to make a stopover of several days or longer in Dubai or Abu Dhabi when flying with Emirates or Etihad, respectively, to Southeast Asia or Oceania. This adds very little to the price of the ticket to the long-haul destination, while making the trip more interesting and less tiring," Saarend said.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Marcus Turovski
