Oman Air seeks daily Manila-Muscat flights

Eyeing mainly Filipinos who live and work in Oman, Oman Air plans to increase the number of direct flights between Manila and Muscat to seven times a week from thrice weekly, an airline official told reporters in an interview Wednesday.

 

The airline on Tuesday launched its inaugural Oman-Manila flight. 

 

"As we speak...  His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud al Busaidy, secretary general of the ministry of foreign affairs is currently holding various meetings with his counterpart and other agencies in the Philippines to push for that entitlement," Ritchie Tuano, Oman Air country manager for the Philippines, said in an interview in Makati City.

 

Oman Air seeks to offer the daily flights from Muscat, Oman to Manila "as soon as possible," Tuano said.

 

The bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Oman needs to be expanded before "we can mount more flights," Tuano noted.

 

In a text message to GMA News Online, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said there are 34,867 Filipinos in Oman.

 

Tuano noted overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are the airline's biggest market.

 

"Contract of OFWs runs every one, two years... and everyday there's one new contract coming up," he said. – VS, GMA News