Muscat: Travellers to India and Pakistan will have more flying options, come October 1, with Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, and Salam Air, the low-budget airlines of Oman, announcing resumption and new routes to the sub-continent.
While India-bound passengers from Oman welcomed the resumption of Oman Air flights to the north Indian city of Lucknow and the southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram, Salam Air will provide an option to Pakistan-bound travellers with flights to Peshawar. This will be the fourth destination of Salam Air to Pakistan as they currently fly to Multan, Karachi and Sialkot.
Oman Air had opened the bookings for both the cities and said that they would be resuming direct flights to Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram from October 1.
The resumption of direct flights will provide better options for travellers to the two cities ahead of the festival season in India in late October and November.
It may be mentioned that Oman Air had announced earlier this year that it would resume flights to Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram with 12-weekly flights from Muscat to Lucknow and 5-weekly flights between Muscat and Thiruvananthapuram.
Oman Air currently flies directly to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Kochi and Kozhikode. The addition of two more destinations – Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram - is part of their expansion plans for 2023.
It demonstrates Oman Air’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the economy of the Sultanate of Oman while also exhibiting its drive for increased global reach through its award-winning services and products, along with its signature Omani hospitality both in the air and on the ground.
Welcoming the resumption of direct flights to Lucknow, Prakash Singh, a Muscat-based native of Lucknow city, said: “It is wonderful news. Oman Air’s connectivity from Muscat to Lucknow also caters to a lot of expatriate population living in Uttar Pradesh. And the resumption of flights from October 1 means that we will have better options while planning my trip during the forthcoming festivals of Dussehra and Diwali in October-November.”
Ismail Khan, another Nizwa-based expatriate, who hails from the city of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, said: “The resumption of Oman Air to Lucknow will make things much easier for us. We are happy and hope the prices are not very high, which is at times the case with direct Oman Air flights.”
Shiju Mohammed, a Muscat-based Keralite, said that resumption of Oman Air to Thiruvananthapuram “is a blessing for people living around the city”. “We already have direct Oman Air flights from Muscat to Kochi and Kozikhode, two major airports in Kerala and this third destination will cater to the needs of the large Keralites in Oman.”
In a related development, Salam Air, the low-budget carrier of Oman, announced that it would be beginning direct flights from Muscat to the German city of Munich from September 30.
The twice-a-week flights will operate every Wednesday and Saturday with the flight departing Muscat at 14.45 and reaching Munich at 19.35.
It would return from Munich the same day, starting at 20.20 and arriving in Muscat the next day at 04.50.
The airlines also announced that it would begin operating flights twice a week to the Pakistani city of Peshawar, beginning on October 1.
The flight will depart Muscat on every Sunday and Wednesday at 23.50 and land in Peshawar at 03.25. The return flight from Peshawar will start at 04.10 and land in Muscat at 06.00 every Monday and Thursday.