SALALAH -- The residents of Salalah will have more options to fly directly to new destinations with the launch of direct flights to Doha and Dubai sectors by Qatar Airways and flydubai respectively. Both the flights are scheduled to begin operation from early next week. In addition to that Air Arabia has increased number of flights to and from Salalah and Oman Air already has four weekly flights to Dubai. Discussions are under way to introduce many more flights to new sectors, as commissioning of the new Salalah airport is likely to be done by July 2014.
According to the officials of the Oman Airport Management Company, Salalah Airport is prepared for the new operations. The Qatar Airways' Doha-Salalah flight will start from May 22, while the inaugural celebration for Salalah-Doha flight will be held on May 23 at the Salalah Airport. "The Salalah-Doha service will begin with the arrival of Airbus A320 from Doha on May 22 and will operate four times a week to Salalah.
"The flight will operate non-stop from Doha (departure 9.15 pm) to Salalah (arrival 00.40 am) the following day, while it will take off from Salalah at 9.20 am and arrive in Doha at 10.30 am," said Salem Awad al Yafaey, General Manager OAMC, Salalah Airport. Dubai-based budget carrier flydubai operation will begin two days before the Salalah-Doha operation of Qatar Airways. "The airline will begin its services on May 21 and operate three times a week between Dubai-Salalah on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays," said al Yafaey.
The flydubai's flight will depart from Dubai International Airport at 4.20 pm and arrive at Salalah Airport at 6.20 pm. Return flight from Salalah will be on the same days at 7.20 pm that will arrive in Dubai at 9.30 pm. Air Arabia announced an increase in the frequency of flights to Salalah from the carrier's primary hub in Sharjah. Effective May 8, the airline will offer three flights per week, an addition of one flight to the existing schedule.
Air Arabia is offering new services to Salalah on Wednesdays. Departing from Sharjah International Airport at 8 am, the flight will arrive Salalah at 9.45 am. The return flights will depart from Salalah on the same day at 10.25 am and arrive in Sharjah at 12.05 pm. Oman Air already has four flights in a week from Salalah to Dubai and is likely to introduce some more during the Khareef season, which attracts large number of tourists from the GCC countries. "The customers are winners in the wake of new flight operations. It compels the flight operators to offer the best possible price and services due to competition in the market," said Anis Kumar of Universal Travels.
© Oman Daily Observer 2013
