SHARJAH: Budget carrier Air Arabia has opened bookings for regular return flights from June 1 2020 to a number of destinations across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East including Colombo.
The Air Arabia flights will operate depending on the easing of restriction on international travel as well as approval from the authorities in UAE and other countries where it will be flying to.
Based on the flight schedule of departure on June 1 from Sharjah and return on June 10, Air Arabia’s return fare to Colombo starts from Dh1,261 (approx. 64,000 rupees). Tickets will be refunded in the form of vouchers if the flights are not operated as scheduled, according to local media reports.
“Due to the directives and restrictions imposed by the authorities, Air Arabia was forced to cancel most of its flights till May 30, 2020. We continue to monitor the situation and will inform the relevant passengers of any change regarding their flights,” the Sharjah-based airline said on its website.
The Sharjah-based low-cost carrier has also opened bookings for regular return flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Trivandrum, Karachi, Peshawar, Dhaka, Beirut, Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Moscow and Vienna, from June 1, 2020.
Previously, flydubai had also opened bookings to certain destinations subject to easing of restrictions on international flights. Flydubai website also showed outbound flights to Mumbai from May 21 and is operating special flights to Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegevonia, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Kyrgzstan, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is already operating special repatriation flights to a number of European and Asian destinations. It is looking to resume flights from May 16 but the booking is still open for one-way tickets only. Passengers can book one-way tickets to Beirut, Karachi on June 16, and Mumbai. Flights to some cities such as London will operate on a more regular basis while other routes will have special flights only.
Emirates has also announced that it will be operating limited passenger flights to carry travellers outbound from the UAE to some destinations up to June 30, 2020. But its website showed that passengers can book outbound ticket for Mumbai from July 1 and also for Lahore.
The UAE’s civil aviation authority suspended all inbound and outbound passenger flights and the transit of airline passengers in the UAE on March 22 as part of the precautionary measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19. But cargo and special repatriation flights continue to be operated by Emirates, flydubai, Etihad and Air Arabia.
