The richest people flee while they can.
From Sunday, all flights between India and the United Arab Emirates - one of the busiest airways in the world - will be suspended for 10 days due to a record rise in coronavirus cases in the country. Asia.
Following the announcement, airline ticket prices skyrocketed and demand for private jets exploded in India on Friday.
Anyone who can afford it is trying to escape the resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic in a country where saturated hospitals face a shortage of beds and oxygen.
About 3.3 million Indians live in the Emirates, where they constitute a third of the population.
The majority of them reside in Dubai, one of the country's seven emirates.
Tickets ten times more expensive
One-way commercial flights from Mumbai to Dubai on Friday and Saturday cost up to 80,000 rupees ($ 1,000), about 10 times the regular price, according to price comparison sites.
Tickets for a New Delhi-Dubai flight cost more than 50,000 rupees, five times the usual price.
For private jets, demand is "absolutely crazy," said a spokesperson for Air Charter Service India, which specializes in this service.
“We have 12 flights to Dubai tomorrow and each of them is completely full,” he added.
$ 38,000 to rent a 13-seat jet
“I received almost 80 inquiries for flights to Dubai today alone,” said a spokesperson for Enthral Aviation, another provider.
“We asked for more planes from overseas to meet the demand… It costs $ 38,000 to rent a 13-seater jet from Bombay to Dubai and $ 31,000 for a 6-seater aircraft,” he said. .
“People form groups and arrange among themselves to share a jet just to have a seat… We have received a few requests for Thailand but most of the time people want to go to Dubai,” he said. he continued.
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