Airlines start rebooking flights after US travel ban

Muscat: Airlines have started rebooking or offering refund options to passengers belonging to seven newly banned countries for travel to the United States from Oman.
Airlines are advising expats from Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Yemen that they need to have either a US green card or a diplomatic visa to travel to the United States following the Trump’s travel ban.
Dubai-based Emirates said it is offering rebooking and refund options to affected passengers who are booked to fly to/from the US between January 28 and February 28, 2017. “Please contact your booking agent if you need to change your travel arrangements,” it said.
An official of Etihad Airways said: “Guests can avail of one free date change if they need to be rebooked on/after April 28, 2017 (90 days from the signed executive
order).
The waiver of date change charge only applies to nationals (passport holders) of these seven countries having travel segments from Abu Dhabi-US within the next 90 days, irrespective of the point of ticketing or journey commencement.” An official of Turkish Airline in Muscat said they are still working on this issue. “We will come out with something more flexible for our travellers very soon,” he said.
He has asked airport officials at the Muscat International Airport to be alert and check for the US visas and passengers’ nationality before they are allowed to board their flights. “We will be checking their nationality and their visas in Muscat and Istanbul also,” the official clarified.
Emirates said they have made the necessary adjustments for their crew arrangements to comply with the latest requirements.
“The recent change in the US entry requirements for nationals of seven countries applies to all travellers and flight operations’ crew. To date, no Emirates crew has been impacted by the change. We have made the necessary adjustments to our crew arrangements, to comply with the latest needs. Emirates continues to operate flights to the US as scheduled,” an Emirates spokesperson told the Times of Oman.
“It has been stated by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officials that there will be no problem if passengers have diplomatic visa (Type A1-A2) or the visa which is given to government officials (Type G1G2).However, they may take name-based decisions, if needed,” the official said.