Oman Air, the official carrier of Oman, will begin offering a direct service between Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and Muscat, the capital city of Oman from Sunday, October 1, 2023.
With a capacity for 162 people, the service will be flown by a Boeing 737 aircraft. The service will be offered from Thiruvananthapuram on Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
On Sundays and Wednesdays, the aircraft from Muscat will arrive at 7:45 am and depart at 8:45 am. On Thursdays, the arrival time is 1:55 pm, and the departure time is 4:10 pm. In addition, the arrival time on Saturdays will be 2:30 pm, and the departure time will be 3:30 pm, according to a press release issued by the airport authorities on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.
Oman Air will be the second carrier in the Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat sector. On this route, Air India Express operates daily services. Currently, the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport oversees an average of 12,000 passengers and operates 82 aircraft movements in a single day. In the first quarter of 2023-24, the airport recorded nearly 1.04 million passenger movements, the release mentioned. The airport had over 1.04 million passenger movements in the first quarter of 2023-24, the release further added.
On the other hand, SalamAir, Oman’s budget airline, has announced that it will cease operations on October 1, 2023 according to the Times of Oman. Also, the bookings will be “null and void,” as per the report, but passengers will be refunded for their reservations beginning October 1, this year.
Reportedly, SalamAir will temporarily cease its flights to India, citing difficulties in air rights distribution as the key cause for this unexpected move. SalamAir offers low-cost flights to four Indian cities: Jaipur, Lucknow, Calicut, and Thiruvananthapuram for expats residing in Oman. The travel companies have also been alerted of SalamAir’s decision to suspend all operations to India, according to the report.
SalamAir has further made a remarkable effort to alleviate the discomfort of impacted passengers. Passengers who had booked flights to India would receive a full refund, according to the airline. Those who are entitled for refunds can begin the process right away by contacting SalamAir directly. Passengers may also use well-known travel agencies. This customer-focused strategy seeks to ensure that all travellers are promptly repaid for the entire amount of their ticket purchase.
The cancellation of SalamAir’s flights to India is definitely a huge blow for customers, particularly those travelling to and from Oman.
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