COVID-19: Airline industry in Oman hopes resumption of normal operations
With most people vaccinated they are confident situation will get better
Muscat: Residents from the subcontinent and a host of other countries hope that the ravel ban will be lifted.
Muhammad Arif, Country Manager Oman for Pakistan International Airlines, hopes that with many people having taken the COVID-19 vaccination, the Oman authorities will review the situation and allow Pakistani citizens travelling from Pakistan to enter Oman.
“Even if the ban is lifted, the entry could be conditional with PCR tests and fulfilment of vaccination shots. We also expect that the vaccinated people are allowed to go through a home quarantine and not a mandatory institutional quarantine that puts a lot of financial burden on travellers.”
Arif is confident that situation will get better in the coming days as the pandemic has severely impacted travel and airline industries the most.
Salam Al Kindi, an Airlines and Aviation industry expert, says that with the vaccination coverage and improvement in the declining number of cases in India, the normal flight operations to and from India should resume very soon.
“The hard measures are a symbolic gesture by the government to show its tough stand in eradicating the spread. With the institutional quarantine still in force, it is about time for normal operations to resume with the countries that are now on banned list – at least with some of them. I expect the flights to resume between Oman and ISC countries by next month.”
Special need-based flights are operated currently between Oman and countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan among others by carriers like Oman Air and Salam Air from Oman side, along with the respective countries’ national carriers and designated carriers.