Over 35,000 Omanis went abroad for the Eid holidays

Muscat: Over 35,000 Omanis and their families spent their Eid holidays abroad taking advantage of a nine-day break, according to the statistics at Muscat Airport and the boarder crossing.

The most popular destinations were the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Thailand, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and India. It was also a huge boost for the two Oman’s national airlines, Oman Air and Salam Air, with flights near full capacity during the holiday period. The border crossing was also extremely busy with holiday makers driving to the neighbouring Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“It was a good break for my family and I in Tanzania. Not often we have nine days off for the Eid holiday. We took advantage of it. We came back on the weekend feeling fresh and thankful we could afford a break,” Ali Al-Mahrooki, who works as a civil engineer at the Ministry of Defence, told Times of Oman. But the second reason of the Eid holiday demand was fuelled by the lull of the pandemic when many countries imposed travel restrictions for the fear of the coronavirus spread.

“I did not travel since 2020. It has been two years and with the coronavirus restrictions lifted by many countries, we had a lot of choice of destinations. We chose to spend our Eid holidays in Istanbul since there are no restrictions there now,” Ibrahim Al-Jawhari, a 53-year old Omani engineer, told Times of Oman. Those who drove to Dubai had to endure a long traffic queue at the border but they say the delay was worth it.

“There was a long line at the border-crossing with cars queuing up but we did not mind at all. It took us an hours to go through but after that it was very smooth. The holiday was great and my family are very happy about it,” Salah Al-Jabri, a clearance officer at the ministry of manpower, said.

Not only Omanis celebrated the Eid break. Expatriates working in Oman also travel out of the country, too.

“My wife and I flew to India to see our parents in our native town in Hyderabad. The flight was packed and we were lucky to get seats since the Eid demand was high. But it was a good break and now I am ready for the challenges at work,” Shabbir Kareem, an Indian expatriate in Oman, told Times of Oman.