By Ben Garcia
KUWAIT: Airline ticket prices have fallen in recent months to nearly pre-pandemic levels for many destinations. Airfares to some European countries such as UK and France are now at KD 150 to KD 250 depending on the airline and destination city. Meanwhile, return tickets to India are available for KD 110-KD 120, while tickets to the United States can be bought for KD 250-KD 300 compared to almost KD 1,000-KD 1,500 in 2021. Meanwhile, tickets to Dubai are back at KD 60-KD 70.
"Demand is high now and people want to travel outside the country. There are many bookings to Europe and East Asia, plus the US. Inquiries are never ending, as people want to travel," a travel agency executive told Kuwait Times on the condition of anonymity.
Disparities
But there are still disparities in airfares to some destinations, including Manila. Kuwait Times spoke to some travel agencies and confirmed ticket prices to Manila range from KD 260 to as much as KD 615. One travel agent explained that the difference is due to different factors, such as the airline, flight date and whether it's a direct or indirect flight.
"The prices of direct flights are definitely expensive compared to tickets for connecting flights," she explained. On the other hand, she expected prices could soon drop after the Philippine government lifted a quota for arriving passengers per flight. "We are expecting a drastic change in the prices of tickets to the Philippines in the coming days, because almost all airlines flying to the Philippines are now operating the route again," the travel agency executive said.
Normal prices
As for India, a travel agent confirmed that tickets are almost at normal prices. "Nowadays, we have round tickets for KD110 to KD 120 to most cities in India," he said. "The good news is that there are more airlines that want to resume flights to several destinations, including India, so it means cheaper prices are likely coming soon."
Although there are some hopes that everything will eventually go back to normal, especially in the travel and tourism sector, many countries have adopted several health measures such 'no PCR test no flight' or 'no vaccine no entry' policies. The airlines are also cautious, demanding all passengers must undergo a PCR test; some within 72 hours, some 48 hours.
"Although, some countries don't require a negative PCR test result on arrival, airlines are playing safe. They demand all passengers must be vaccinated and present a negative PCR test result before boarding the aircraft," she said. Meanwhile, Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways, the two main carriers from Kuwait, have resumed flights to several destinations and are now aggressively hiring new crews and workers to meet rising demand.