Return airfare 7 times high on some routes

Dhaka-Muscat one-way FARE more than RO 350

With fares hovering around seven times higher than the usual average fare, many expatriates planning to come back are in a fix. They call it the most expensive holiday exposure after coming to work in a foreign country.

An average fare from any Bangladesh sector to Muscat is around RO 350 and above, which is far from affordable for the majority, who get less salary and have salary cuts in the wake of the pandemic.

“My family of five has been on vacation in Dhaka for the last three months. Their return back is causing a huge hole in my pocket. I’m clueless when these rates would come down,” lamented Rabiul Islam, an active social worker in the capital area.

Non-season, the fares would go as low as RO 40 or less. The expatriates, who are suffering from high airfares, call the current crisis a tool to cash in on those returning after holidays.

Travel demand is cited as the reason behind the rise in fares. Astonishingly, however, there are fewer takers for return tickets from any of the Asian sectors, it is learnt.

“An average fare from Dhaka or Chittagong to Muscat is about RO 350 and above, and the fare is unchanged despite the low demand these days,” a travel agent has admitted.

The situation with other countries is not any different. Travelling from many Indian sectors is also putting expatriates in a dilemma. An average ticket from a south Indian sector is around RO 170 which is four times higher than the normal.

“I’ve been postponing my travel back to Oman as fares are hovering around RO 170 and with a family of five, I must be selling huge amount to afford the tickets,” says Shamsheer Usman, who runs coffee shops in the interior villages.

Each year, after the holiday seasons, fares tend to go high. A similar rise was witnessed in July-August 2021 when fares between Oman and South Asian countries went sky-high after airlines started bookings for September.

A one-way Oman Air ticket from Kochi to Muscat rose to a whopping RO 340, while the Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat seat was sold for RO 260 for the first week of September.

Kozhikode-Muscat flight on budget carriers ranged between RO 260 and RO 290.

The fares to Bangladesh capital Dhaka rose around RO 250 on US Bangla and about RO 260 on Biman Bangladesh.