Travelling to India becomes easier for expats in Oman

Muscat: Indian nationals in Oman who wish to travel home can now book tickets directly at the Air India offices in the country, once they have registered to fly on board flights organised under the Vande Bharat initiative.
Tickets issued to passengers will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Registrations can be made on the Google Form available on the Embassy of India in Oman’s website: www.indemb-oman.gov.in.
“The passengers, after registering on this form, may also approach Air India offices in Ruwi and Wattaya (National Travels, general sales agent of Air India) directly to book tickets on a first come, first served basis,” said the embassy, which added it would “try and accommodate the passenger in the flight chosen or subsequent flights, provided all other conditions by the Government of India, particularly with regards to domicile, are met by the passenger.”
The greater availability of flights to India and the ease of booking them has made it easier for Indian nationals in Oman to fly back home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passengers looking to travel to India can now select their preferred destination. Previously, they had to first register to travel to India, after which Air India would contact people from this pool.
“Earlier, people used to register to travel back to India, and from there, we would pick those people who wanted to travel to a particular location,” said an airline official in the country. “This took time, because we had to segregate passengers based on their preferences, but now, we also know, on the basis of passenger registrations, who wants to go where, so that has made the process faster.”
The change in operations came into effect on 1 August, shortly before the Government of India decided to ease regulations on mandatory quarantine for returning Indian nationals. Passengers coming back to India can now skip their 14-day quarantine period, if they test negative for a COVID-19 test taken in their country of departure.
Passengers are required to follow all the rules and regulations of the Government of Oman on departure and the Government of India on arrival.