UAE National Day Flight Deals 2026: Where to Fly for the Eid Al Etihad Break

Last updated: Sep 3, 2026

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Where to fly from the UAE for the Eid Al Etihad break
- Which destinations cost more because of the holiday
Questions about the December break
Sources

Where to fly from the UAE for the Eid Al Etihad break

Wego fares, sampled 3 September 2026, cheapest nonstop return for one adult in economy, in AED.

Leaving from

DubaiAbu DhabiSharjah

Time off

No leave2 to 4 DecFriday off2 to 6 Dec

Eid Al Etihad falls on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December 2026. Take the Friday off and the break runs through to Sunday. Which UAE airport you leave from is worth more than any sale: Doha costs almost twice as much from Dubai as from Sharjah.

Book the breakThe hotel guide prices the same break across six UAE cities.Flying out? Wego offers Staying home? UAE hotels

Which destinations cost more because of the holiday

MuscatNo riseOrdinary week from AED 810 · holiday from AED 810DohaNo riseOrdinary week from AED 1,791 · holiday from AED 1,791Riyadh+1%Ordinary week from AED 473 · holiday from AED 479Istanbul+5%Ordinary week from AED 889 · holiday from AED 932Tbilisi+18%Ordinary week from AED 1,730 · holiday from AED 2,039Colombo+23%Ordinary week from AED 1,319 · holiday from AED 1,618Mumbai+27%Ordinary week from AED 1,118 · holiday from AED 1,418Baku+40%Ordinary week from AED 1,433 · holiday from AED 2,010Cairo+46%Ordinary week from AED 1,527 · holiday from AED 2,230Amman+51%Ordinary week from AED 742 · holiday from AED 1,122Kochi+71%Ordinary week from AED 1,077 · holiday from AED 1,837Bangkok+72%Ordinary week from AED 1,541 · holiday from AED 2,658

Muscat and Doha cost exactly the same from Dubai over the holiday as in an ordinary November week, and Riyadh and Istanbul barely move. Bangkok and Kochi are where the break is priced in hardest, both above 70 per cent.

Questions about the December break

When is UAE National Day 2026 and how long is the break?

Eid Al Etihad is a paid holiday on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December 2026. Commemoration Day on 30 November is marked but is no longer a paid day off. Because the UAE weekend is Saturday and Sunday, taking Friday 4 December off turns the two holidays into a five-day break.

Which UAE airport is cheapest to fly from over National Day?

It depends entirely on where you are going, which is why the planner above lets you switch airports. On the five-day break, Sharjah is the cheapest departure point for Doha, Muscat, Amman, Cairo and Bangkok, while Dubai wins on Istanbul and Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi wins on Riyadh and Colombo.

Is it worth taking Friday 4 December off?

On most routes it is close to free. Comparing the two-night break against the four-night one, the longer trip was the same price or cheaper on 20 of the 36 airport and destination pairs we priced. Where it did cost more, the increase was under AED 300 on every route, and under AED 100 on seven of them.

Which destinations do not cost more because of the holiday?

From Dubai, Muscat and Doha were priced identically in the holiday window and in an ordinary November week, and Riyadh and Istanbul moved by less than five per cent. Bangkok and Kochi were the two steepest, both above 70 per cent.

Are these the cheapest fares available?

They are the cheapest nonstop fares, which is not always the cheapest fare on the route. On several routes a one-stop itinerary was materially cheaper, but it added between three and 21 hours in each direction. On a break this short that is usually a bad trade, so the planner prices nonstops only.

Sources

u.ae, the UAE Government portal, public holiday dates for 2026, retrieved 3 September 2026.
Wego flight search, sampled 3 September 2026 on the UAE point of sale, in AED.

How these figures were produced

Every fare is the cheapest nonstop return for one adult in economy, priced on the UAE point of sale in AED on 3 September 2026.
The holiday window is Wednesday 2 December to Sunday 6 December 2026, and the shorter option is Wednesday 2 December to Friday 4 December. The ordinary week used for comparison is Wednesday 18 November to Sunday 22 November, the same weekday shape with no holiday in it.
The comparison against an ordinary week is drawn from Dubai only. Averaging a premium across origins hides the fact that the three airports have different route networks and different carriers on the same route.
Itineraries combining a coach transfer with a flight were excluded. They surface in the results as zero-stop trips and are not comparable with a nonstop flight.
Connecting itineraries were excluded from the planner. On several routes they were cheaper, and on all but two they added more than seven hours in each direction.
Fares move constantly and the figures here are a snapshot, not a quote. Each row opens a live Wego search for that exact trip, which is where the current price is.

Disclaimer: We’ve worked hard to make sure the information in this article is as accurate and up to date as possible at the time of publishing. Travel details such as prices, schedules, visa rules, and entry requirements can change at short notice, so it remains your responsibility to verify the current details with official sources before you book or travel. Wego accepts no liability for any loss or inconvenience arising from the use of this content.