Muscat International Airport is tiny by Middle Eastern standards, with barely one-eighth of the passenger numbers handled in a typical year by Dubai.
But with airports in the UAE, Qatar and beyond either operating with only a small fraction of normal operations or closed completely due to airspace restrictions, the airport in the Omani capital is experiencing a surge in flights and passengers.
Qatar Airways, which has flown no passengers since the weekend, is launching a “mini hub” in Muscat. From Friday, a small number of jets together with pilots and cabin crew will be shuttling from there to London Heathrow as well as Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam.
The first flight was to Heathrow. The Boeing 777 was scheduled for 1pm local time on Thursday, but departed late, and is expected to arrive shortly after 8pm GMT.
By road, the distance from Doha to Muscat is over 1,000km. Border crossings for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman add to the journey time from Qatar to Muscat airport.
British Airways has announced that a fourth passenger flight will be operated from Muscat to London Heathrow. The departure in the early hours of Sunday is strictly for British Airways passengers who have been stuck in the Gulf region, especially Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
A BA spokesperson said: “Please do not travel to the airport unless you have a confirmed booking.
“This flight is for BA customers who are in Oman or the UAE with an existing booking. If you wish to travel on this flight, please contact us via our dedicated phone line on +44 203 467 3854. Our teams will also be getting in touch with BA customers directly via email.
“We are constantly reviewing the situation and will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues in the region and remain in regular contact with them.”
Muscat was also the departure airport for the UK government charter flight that was severely delayed due to what a minister called “problems with getting passengers on board”.
In addition, the national airline, Oman Air, is laying on extra flights between its hub at Muscat and several international airports – including London Heathrow. The carrier is redeploying aircraft and crew that would normally fly to destinations in the Gulf.
The additional departures will operate from Saturday for nine days initially.
Other destinations served include Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai. The carrier may accept bookings from these Asian cities to London, adding much-needed capacity and helping to keep fares low.
Emirates is continuing to increase the number of repatriation flights that it is operating from Dubai. On Thursday, it has three departures to Heathrow, two to Manchester and one to Gatwick.
Virgin Atlantic is flying once again between Heathrow and Dubai.
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