Flights being organised to bring Oman residents stuck overseas

Muscat: Foreign nationals who have Oman residence visas and are employed in the country could soon return on special flights organised for them by travel agencies, in collaboration with the Sultanate’s government.

Travel agencies in the country are currently working out the best way to bring back people who wish to return – once permissions have been secured from the authorities – be it on repatriation flights that come to fly people home from Oman, or chartered planes that will be hired based on demand.

“We have had a lot of people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the European countries who went home for their annual leave and could not come back,” said Fayaz Khan, head of travel at Travel Point. “They have been requesting us for updates regarding return to Oman, but until now, it was only Omanis who could return.

“However, on 15 July, the government did say that residents in Oman could fly back if they received permissions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the respective embassies, so we have been working accordingly, to organise flights for them based on the demand,” he added.

Because many of those who wished to return had Oman numbers and therefore could not be directly contacted since they were overseas, Travel Point decided to create a flyer and share it on their social media pages, which were very active as people often checked them for updates on travel restrictions.

“We are looking at ways to bring people back,” said Khan. “Either the customers can book the tickets themselves, on these planes that will be organised, or we can book it for them, and advise them on the procedures required to come back. After registration from these passengers, it takes about 10 days more or less to secure permission from the authorities, so we will plan these return flights accordingly.”