SALALAH, May 12 - Oman’s first budget airline SalamAir announced flights from Salalah to Georgia and Azerbaijan with about an hour of stopover at Muscat International Airport. The arrangement thus would bode well both for the airline and the passengers from Salalah to Tbilisi, as the airline had already announced direct flights from Muscat to Tbilisi to be launched from June. “This arrangement of tagging Salalah passengers with the Muscat-Tbilisi three weekly flights means a lot for those living in Salalah as it is going to cut long transit time for holidaymakers, who have to spend seven to eight hours in transit either in Muscat or in Dubai to travel to and from Tbilisi,” said a Salalah based tour operator.
To make this new arrangement run smoothly for passengers, airline and the destination, a delegation comprising officials of Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Georgian National Tourism Administration, Georgian Convention and Exhibition Bureau, and some Georgian tour operators interacted with travel agents and tour operators in Salalah on Saturday and discussed the nitty-gritties of the whole arrangement. SalamAir hosted the meeting at Salalah Gardens Mall & Residences.
Starting from June 14, there would be three weekly flights to Tbilisi on Friday, Monday and Wednesday. The ticket price from Salalah would start from RO 139 for this sector. Two weekly flights for Baku would start from June 15. Commenting on timing and connectivity, Majid al Qassabi, International Sales Manager of SalamAir, said, “Say for example the flight from Salalah would be at 8.30 pm, it will reach Muscat at 10 pm and would depart at 11 pm for Tbilisi.” “We explored this sector because there is no direct flight from Salalah to Tbilisi and there is very high demand for this sector. Even from Muscat we are the only airline operating directly,” he said.
There is visa on arrival for Omani nationals and residents; it is friendly and not very expensive destination; halal food is available along with Indian, Arabic and popular food items from Middle Eastern countries, explained Al Qassabi. He advised the travellers to have return ticket, confirmed hotel booking, travel insurance, and asked them to have tour service only with authorised tour operators in Georgia. “SalamAir has strong partnership arrangement with General Sales Agent (GSA) in Georgia which is equipped with all possible services and assistance for passengers travelling with the airline,” said Al Qassabi. The flights would be seasonal operating from mid-June to mid-September.
However, depending on demand, the airline may consider flights in winter as well. Amiran Ivanidze, Chief Operating Officer at Georgian Tourism Administration, expressed happiness over SalamAir’s Tbilisi operation and said Georgia has a lot to offer to the tourists. “It is a cool, calm and hospitable country. Safety and security is one of the best in the region and it has plenty of locations to see and spend time leisurely with family and friends. We have a large number of visitors from Oman and I am sure this new arrangement is going to boost tourism in both the countries, as there are many in Georgia who want to visit Oman,” he said.
Kaushalendra Singh
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