Monday 02 / March / 2026
MUSCAT: As most of the UAE flights remain suspended until March 3 amid escalating US-Israel tensions with Iran, stranded passengers are turning to Oman—travelling by road to catch flights from Muscat International Airport, pushing up airfares, travel agents in the Sultanate said.
Soumava Mukherjee, General Manager of Travel City/Travel Point, said many passengers are undertaking a five-hour journey by private vehicles to reach Muscat, as operations in Oman remain open.
“Passengers in the UAE are not sure when flights will fully resume, so they prefer to travel to Muscat and fly out from here,” he told Times of Oman. “We have seen a sharp increase in last-minute bookings, and fares have gone up due to high demand.”
He added that requests for passenger transfers and hotel bookings from the UAE have surged. “Only yesterday, we handled a few passenger transfers. In fact, requests are pouring in for transfers and hotel bookings from the UAE,” he said.
Meanwhile, Oman’ Air and Oman’s low-cost carrier SalamAir announced travel via Muscat with integrated bus transfers from Sharjah (SHJ) to Muscat (MCT), offering onward connections to final destinations.
“All tickets must be purchased in advance, and there are no tickets available for purchase at the bus station. Guests requiring an Oman visa should complete their application through the appropriate official channels prior to travel,” the airline said. It also requested passengers with valid bookings to arrive at the bus station at least 30 minutes prior to departure.
Several passengers shared similar experiences. “I had to drive overnight from Sharjah to Muscat to catch my flight to Mumbai,” said Anil Kumar, an Indian expatriate. “It was tiring, but I couldn’t risk waiting as my ticket from Dubai kept getting rescheduled.”
Another traveller, Maria D’Souza, said: “We booked a bus to Muscat after our Abu Dhabi flight was cancelled twice. The airfare was higher than usual, but we had no other option.”
The Sultanate of Oman is among the least affected countries in terms of flight cancellations in the GCC region. The Civil Aviation Authority has not closed Omani airspace, unlike several other major GCC countries.
SalamAir said on Sunday that its overall flight operations have returned to normal, although services to and from several regional destinations remain temporarily suspended. In a travel advisory, the airline said it was “pleased to inform” customers that flight operations across its network had resumed as scheduled.
However, SalamAir confirmed that flights to and from Iran, Iraq, Sharjah in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait remain suspended until further notice.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said regional airspace closures continue to impact its operations, and all flights to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 2pm UAE time on Tuesday, March 3.
Dubai-based Emirates said it has temporarily suspended all flights to and from Dubai until 15:00 UAE time on Tuesday, March 3, due to multiple regional airspace closures. The airline said the situation is dynamic and continuously monitored, urging passengers to check its official website for updates.
According to data shared by a global aviation analytics firm, more than 2,000 inbound flights were cancelled across Gulf and Middle East countries as of 2:30am on Tuesday.
