(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Oman Air is keen to promote Muscat as linkage for flights between Africa and East Asia. It is working on offering more flights to countries in both continents.
Currently we have four flights per week to China, mainly to Guangzhou. But, we want to increase the frequency to daily. At the same time we are talking to Chinese authorities to provide air connectivity to other cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai. We have also plans to increase flights to other Asian countries,' said Eng Abdul Aziz Saud al Raisi, chief executive officer, Oman Air.
He said, 'Basically, we want Muscat to act as a hub for air-link between Asia and Africa. We are also looking to launch more flights to African countries. The launch of flights to Casablanca fromJuly 1is part of this initiative. Soon, we plan to launch direct flights to South Africa and Rwanda.'
He was speaking to media at an event held at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation premises recently.
Agreeing to this, Mustafa al Hinai, CEO at Oman Aviation Group, an umbrella organisation for promoting aviation sector said following the opening of new Muscat International Airport earlier this year, there is enough capacity available to increase the number of flights.
'And, the sultanate due to its strategic location could serve as a connecting link between Africa and Asia. Countries in both Asia and Africa are witnessing rapid economic growth and there will be scope for more trade, travel and tourism in both the continents,' said Hinai.
On increasing flights to India, which account for significant number between the two countries, Hinai said, 'At present, the total number of seats available between Oman and India are 27,000 per week. We are going to sign agreements to increase the number to 60,000 in future. Increasing the number of seats means Oman Air will be adding more locations in India. We are looking at adding cities such as Mangalore, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad among destinations served by us. Moreover, we will also be adding more capacity to existing routes by introducing bigger aircraft like A330s, 747s or Dreamliners if possible.'
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