Muscat: Home-grown airline, SalamAir, has announced that it will begin special flights to six Indian destinations from Muscat.

This comes after Oman and India established a bilateral air bubble arrangement for the operation of special international passenger flights connecting the two countries.

As part of this air bubble pact, SalamAir will operate special passenger flights twice a week to Calicut (Kozhikode), Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) till end of November.

SalamAir flights are now open for sale through SalamAir.com, its call centres and appointed travel agents.

It must be noted that only passengers from these categories can avail tickets on these flights:

1) Any Indian national holding a valid residency permit can fly from India to Oman. Airlines must ensure that Indian nationals are eligible to enter Oman before issue of ticket/boarding pass to the Indian passenger;

2) Indian nationals stranded in Oman;

3) All Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders holding passports of Oman;

4) Nationals of Oman (including diplomats) holding valid visa issued by an Indian Mission.

Captain Mohamed Ahmed, the CEO of SalamAir said in statement to the media: “We are happy that we are part of this bilateral air bubble arrangement between India and Oman.

“While this arrangement is temporary, we are confident and looking forward to launch India as one of our destinations.

He added: “India is one of the most important markets for all airlines operating in the Middle East due to the size of its population, number of tourists from the country and expat residents.

“SalamAir has operated nearly 700 chartered flights to overseas destinations over the last three months, with many of them flying to India. This has enabled us to gain a lot of knowledge about the market and passengers’ expectation.

“This exposure will make our entry to the Indian market a smoother experience. We are working closely with concerned authorities to secure necessary clearance to start permanent operations.”

All operations are subject to strict adherence to the standard operating procedures issued by the civil aviation authorities and other COVID-19 related guidelines issued by the authorities from both sides.

All arrival and departure passengers must comply and follow all procedures and regulations outlined and published by concerned authorities for a safe travel experience.