RIYADH: If you have any unexpected travel plans in the next few weeks that require a last-minute plane reservation: Good luck; Haj takes place next week, school will be out for three weeks, and residents are on the move.

“No flights available,” and “no open bookings for domestic flights for weeks to come,” were the typical responses by travel agents when contacted by Arab News on Tuesday. Based on last night’s lunar sighting, Nov. 26 is Arafat Day and Eid Al- Adha begins the following day. The Saudi school holiday begins after classes on Wednesday and continues for two weeks after Eid.

“Up to the first day of Eid I have no available bookings for domestic flights. The demand is still very high but there are no available seats,” said Basharat Ali of Al-Tayyar travel agency.

You might not have much more luck on international flights, either. Vacation-bound Saudis and expatriates will be flying out while pilgrims will be arriving. Then, after Eid, the reverse will occur with out-bound pilgrims and returning Saudis and exptriates. According to Basharat, flights from Saudi Arabia to Manila, Egypt, Lebanon and Dubai are in especially high demand. “Even with airlines providing extra flights to popular destinations, such as Dubai and Egypt, the demand exceeds the supply,” he added.

“All my attempts to book flight reservations failed. I was told that it is impossible during this time of the year by the various travel agencies I visited,” he said. Majed Al-Harbi, a telecommunications employee from Jeddah who works in Riyadh says he has had no luck finding any flights to the west coast. Instead, he says he and his family of four are making the 8-to-11 hour drive from the capital to the Bride of the Red Sea.

“I have made the trip before,” said Harbi. “Now, it’s the only available solution.”

Even good old-fashioned “wasta” isn’t helping much, according to one Saudi Arabian Airlines employee who didn’t want his name published; he says friends and family have been calling him to try to get bookings because they think he can get them special treatment.

“It is impossible, I tell them,” he said. If you need to get somewhere in the Kingdom until after two weeks after Eid (after Dec. 11), the best or only way may be to simply drive there — if you can.