Airfares soared and demand for private jets boomed Friday as Indians who could afford it scrambled to escape a Covid surge before flights to the United Arab Emirates shut down.
All flights from the UAE to India — one of the world’s busiest air corridors — will be suspended from Sunday as coronavirus cases in the South Asian nation reach record levels and overwhelm hospitals.
Price comparison websites showed one-way commercial flights from Mumbai to Dubai on Friday and Saturday costing as much as 80,000 rupees ($1,000), around 10 times the usual rate.
Tickets for the New Delhi to Dubai route were going for more than 50,000 rupees, five times the normal level.
