Oman launches campaign ahead of airports reopening

Muscat: The Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) has launched a #Fly_Confidently campaign ahead of the return of the scheduled services in Oman.

In a message released on Sunday, PACA said, “We will be with you on your next flight once the return of scheduled flights is approved by the Supreme Committee.”

Airports in Oman will be fully prepared to operate in the post-Covid environment, said the authorities had in a statement last week.

In cooperation with strategic partners, Oman Airports said it has put in place all safety measures at airports to prepare for the return of passenger operations when officially approved.

Speaking to the Observer, aviation sector sources the Public Authority of Civil Aviation will be issuing guidelines at the appropriate time.

“International standards and regulations will be strictly followed under the supervision of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA),” said Oman Airports in a statement.

Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport, said that airports will return to operations once approved by the Supreme Committee, with a focus on self-service and preventive measures to ensure safe travel.

Some of the measures implemented are the luggage trolley and personal sanitizing devices before entering the airport terminal, temperature checks before entering buildings Airports, ongoing sterilization of airport facilities, providing sanitizing tools within airports, distribution of physical separation stickers, installation of glass barriers at check-in counters, self-check-facilities, transferring passengers with symptoms to airport clinics and constant of sterilization of all pieces of baggage.

The minister had earlier said that resuming domestic flights will be delayed due to the lockdown imposed in Dhofar and Duqm.

Airports Council International (ACI) World has called for urgent government assistance and relief for airports to underpin operational restart and sustain the long-term industry recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the industry and broader economy has halted the airport industry at a global level.
ACI says there has been a reduction of more than 4.6 billion passengers with a decline in total airport revenues on a global scale of more than $97 billion for 2020.

“Despite this, they remain important engines of economic growth, wealth creation, and employment. They employ – either directly or indirectly – more than 6.1 million globally which makes up 60 percent of all employment in the aviation sector and provides direct societal and economic benefits to the local, regional, and national communities they serve.”