Not many travel options

A1“Maldives is unfortunately a very expensive proposition for many Indians right now, so they have cancelled their flights or postponed them for the next month, in the hope that things will get better by then,” Khan said. “We had looked at Nepal as another alternative, but after the spike in cases there, all domestic and international air travel has been banned by that country as well, so there not a lot of options left for people.”

“It’s not just Indians travelling to Oman: we get requests from people travelling to other countries as well. Indians in the UK, for example, used Turkey as a quarantine location, before flying onward, but the British authorities have put Turkey on the red list, so no flights are allowed from there. Armenia is another option that is being considered by Indians flying onward into Europe, the USA and Canada.”

Khan added that tour companies were waiting to see whether other GCC countries like the UAE or Qatar would once again allow in Indians. That would give them the chance to isolate there for two weeks before coming to Oman. While Qatar is allowing passengers to transit, visas are not being issued to those looking to complete their quarantine there before flying to their next destination.