The holidays are over and it?s time to join ? or rejoin ? school on distant shores. And most airlines are flying high in the off-season period of August-September, on the wings of student traffic to North America, with the UK not far behind.

Hit the hardest are those desperately seeking a ticket to fly to Canada or the US, in any emergency. Like a family from south Calcutta, seeking a ticket to Toronto for a medical emergency or a patient having to wait till September 17 after postponing her August 6 flight out to New York.

Singapore Airlines has a waiting list of 200-plus to San Francisco and Los Angeles till mid-September, as opposed to a normal figure of 30-40, says Bharath Mahadevan, manager, eastern India. ?About 10?15 per cent of that is from Calcutta. And this, with three flights a day to LA from Singapore, and twice daily to San Francisco. Flights to other destinations, like New York, too, are quite full,? adds Mahadevan.

Most airlines don?t ?categorise passengers?, but officials admit that students do contribute in large numbers at this time of year. Says Biswajit Mukherji, sales and customer relations manager, eastern India, Air India: ?There are students, of course, but also NRIs returning home. This year, the rush for the US started early, with flights being sold out since July. Our waiting lists have been closed, and will not open before September 6.?

US flights, particularly to destinations like Newark, New Jersey, and Chicago, are ?completely sold out? till around September 15, adds Mukherji, with the maximum number of students headed for North America. Only business and first-class seats are available, and even the highest price bracket for the economy class is sold out.

Traditionally, there has always been a student rush from mid-August to mid-September. But there are newer destinations and larger numbers now, says Manish Sood, director (sales and marketing), Giananey Travels and Tours. ?China has emerged as a place for medical education, and students are also headed to Australia and New Zealand this year? All flights to the West are sold out, including Turkish Airlines, via Delhi,? he observes.

With Malaysia Airlines starting direct services to Kuala Lumpur from Calcutta in January, there has been a ?surge in demand from the student community? this month, says Sonia Dutt, marketing manager, South Asia. The hotspots are LA and New York, with bookings full up till September.

Gulf Air, too, has a ?substantial student traffic?, and an official of Royal Jordanian admits to a spurt in demand, though the airline is ?not able to accommodate them because of increased traffic from Amman to the US?.