Muscat: Experts in the travel and airline industry expect that the authorities in the Gulf countries will soon ease the travel restrictions
Expatriates who are stranded at home are hopeful that travel restrictions imposed by the Gulf countries including Oman will be lifted soon.
Their expectations are brightened by a decline in the number of coronavirus cases in their respective countries and government-level talks in this regard. In addition, many of their employers want them back for their exclusive expertise in certain jobs that they handle.
Fights have been suspended for travellers from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and some other countries by Oman and other GCC states as part of the Covid-19 precautionary measures.
Before Qatar and the UAE reopened, many stranded residents in the Indian subcontinent and other red-list countries, had been flying to Balkan countries, southern Europe, and Russia to quarantine 14 days there, before hopping on to a flight to the countries of their destinations.
Scores of expatriates are stuck in their home countries due to suspension of flights. Those who wish to visit their families back home, even in emergencies, have also put off their travel plans.
“Please try to operate flights between India and Oman...it's a request to the respected governments in Oman and India...” reads a social media post by Rajeender Singh Kanwar in New Delhi.
Many expatriates are afraid now that they may lose their jobs as their job licences and residency permits would expire if their stay extended beyond the permitted 180 days in their native countries.
Mehboo ul Haq, a Pakistani citizen, in a WhatsApp message to Observer said, he reached Karachi at the end of March following the death of his father.
“My resident card will get cancelled on August 24 if I do not travel back to Muscat. I hope flights from Pakistan to Oman will resume soon as there is a drop in the number of coronavirus cases and the momentum in the vaccination campaign,” he said.
Peter Pius, a Sri Lankan national, expressed his optimism that the Oman government will soon lift the travel curbs as the Supreme Committee has managed to tackle the Covid-19 situation prudently.
“With the cases coming down at a steady and stable rate, the authorities will take decisions that will pave the way for the return of the residents,” he said.
Experts in the travel and airline industry expect that the authorities in the Gulf countries will soon ease the travel restrictions.
“With government-level talks and the pace at which vaccinations are provided to the citizens in many of the South Asian countries and decline in the number of cases, it is likely that skies will open towards the end of this month”, said Alkesh Yagnik, an aviation expert.
India has already raised the issue of easing travel restrictions imposed by Gulf countries on its nationals at the ministerial and official levels in recent weeks, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi, was quoted by Indian newspapers as saying.
It is learnt that India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Minister of State V Muraleedharan had held meetings with Indian ambassadors in the Gulf countries, where they were requested to take up the issue of resumption of flights with their host countries.
However, travel agents both in Oman and India confirmed that enquiries and bookings for package trips to Muscat via Qatar and other countries have increased in the recent weeks.
“We are getting a lot of enquiry calls in this regard. Many of them want to travel urgently as their work permits are expiring or businesses halted”, said Afzal Ahmed, an official with a travel agency in Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala.
Experts, however, warn that expats should wait for confirmation on resumption of flights before making any flight bookings.
“At the moment, some airlines are selling non-refundable tickets and it is better to wait for official approval before making any flight booking in order to avoid loss of money,” cautioned Alkesh.
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