Around 120,000 people living in Kuwait are planning to spend the New Year’s Eve abroad, the Deputy Director of Aviation Safety and Air Transport has said.

“The number of travellers between December 28 and January 1 is 119,000 and there will be 10 additional flights to take 2,066 more passengers during that period,” Emad Al Jalawi said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Anba on Thursday.

The most popular destinations include Dubai, Cairo, Istanbul, Beirut, Mashhad and London, Al Jalawi added.

“There is a high number of expatriates who will take advantage of the holidays to spend the New Year’s Eve with their families in their countries,” he said.

All passengers should check their travel documents to avoid any delays or problems be at the airport three hours before their scheduled flights in order to clear the required process on time, the official said.

A spokesperson for the Kuwaiti civil aviation said that the slight fog in the country did not affect the flight operations and that the landing and takeoff of planes were not affected.

Kuwait is home to around 3.5 people with expatriates making up two thirds of the total population.

Many Western foreigners tend to take breaks during Christmas and the New Year to spend them at home with their families.

January 1 is a day off in Kuwait and some other Gulf states.

source : gulfnews