DUBAI, 21 March 2003 — Air traffic in the Gulf remained largely normal yesterday despite the start of US-led military strikes on Iraq, as travelers raced to return home.
The main airport in Kuwait was still open, three days after the United States and Britain warned their nationals to leave the emirate bordering Iraq and sparked a mass exodus, airport official Zahir Al-Zamil told the KUNA news agency.
EgyptAir and Kuwait Airways jointly laid on 12 flights to repatriate Egyptians from Kuwait, resuming an “air bridge” interrupted by the first US-led strikes on Iraq, airport officials said.
EgyptAir was to make 10 flights and Kuwait Airways two to ferry around 3,550 people, mostly Egyptians, to Egypt, they said. The United Arab Emirates kept its airspace and airports open for civilian traffic.
“There will be business as usual,” Mohammad Ghanim Al Ghaith, director general of UAE General Civil Aviation Authority told the daily Khaleej Times.
“We have taken adequate measures to guarantee (the) safety of passengers and aircraft,” he said.
Dubai’s Emirates airline announced that it would continue flying via alternative routes with only the Kuwait service halted.
And Oman Air, the sultanate’s national carrier, was evacuating Omanis from Kuwait and Jordan, with the aim of bringing all 1,800 home by today.
“The operation has been smooth and punctual so far,” Edward Grauvogl, Oman Air’s director of planning and communication told AFP, adding that the operation had started Tuesday from Kuwait.
“We brought back 300 Omanis, mostly students, from Kuwait in two Boeing 737-800 flights.”
Grauvogl said many of the 1,500 Omanis in Jordan, also mainly students, had already been flown home.
India also expanded an airlift of its nationals from Kuwait as Iraq fired missiles on the emirate, but national carriers said the evacuation of all 50,000 would begin only if New Delhi gave the green light.
Grauvogl added that Muscat’s Seeb International Airport would continue normal operations.
“We are in the safe zone. In fact, some other airlines want to divert their operations to Seeb Airport in the given situation,” he said, noting however that the airline’s lucrative route to India had been squeezed by the tensions.
International airlines also yesterday announced the re-routing or suspension of flights amid security concerns
Carriers providing services between Europe and Asia were forced to reroute flights north and south of Iraq, leading to additional costs for extra fuel, while stepped-up security measures were also expected to raise the financial toll.
Flights from Singapore to London and Frankfurt were routed over Afghanistan and Turkey, while those from Hong Kong to Europe flew over China and Russia.
Passengers flying Garuda Indonesia to Amsterdam were to go though Singapore, stop in Bangkok, and pass over Cairo.
European carriers such as British Airways, and Lufthansa have canceled flights to Jordan, Lebanon, and Kuwait via Saudi Arabia. BA will continue to serve Dubai and Doha, however, with a company spokesman saying: “We’ll be operating as we had for the last few days.”
Dutch airline KLM said it would fly to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but Cyprus Airways has suspended all flights to the Gulf at least until Sunday.
The airline Swiss also plans to continue operating Middle East flights for the time being, with destinations including the Egyptian tourist sites of Luxor and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, citing safety reasons, said all of its flights between Hong Kong and Europe were now flying routes over China and Russia.
Philippine Airlines said it only flies regularly to Riyadh three times a week and so far there has been no decision to suspend or limit the frequency.
