Air travel between Kuwait and the seven countries, which have a temporary flight-ban imposed on them by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19 infection, is witnessing an acute paralysis in operation that has not only impacted flight operations for airlines and airports but also caused significant loss in revenue to travel agencies and tour operators.
Flights from the seven countries, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Syria, constitute over 60 percent of air traffic in and out of Kuwait. Suspension of flights to these countries, including 11 daily flights to Egypt, could be a severe blow to the aviation and tourism sectors in all affected countries.
More than 483 scheduled flights have reportedly been cancelled for this week, with 54 daily flights in and out of Terminal 1 (T1) and Jazeera Airways Terminal, and 15 daily flights or 105 flights a week from Terminal 4 (T4) being suspended.
In addition, the sudden midnight circular by the DGCA suspending air traffic between Kuwait and the seven countries caught many airlines off-guard and led to three flights from India having to be redirected mid-air to other destinations.
Travel analysts say the Kuwait aviation and tourism sector depends mainly on these seven countries for passengers as they have the largest proportion of expatriate workers in Kuwait. The temporary flight suspension, if it is to continue for more than a week as originally planned, could expose the travel and tourism sector to huge losses. They also point out that airlines are obliged to refund payments for booked tickets or reschedule bookings according to the wishes of passengers without any deduction due to the fact that the decision came through the Cabinet and the DGCA and the affected passengers had no say in it.
Meanwhile, national carrier Kuwait Airways has confirmed that it is waiting for instructions from the relevant government agencies to operate evacuation flights for citizens in the seven countries with flight suspensions and that lists of citizens trapped in those countries have been drawn up in consultation with concerned embassies and consulates. It was not clear, what would happen to the evacuation plans if the seven countries affected by the DGCA decision decided to reciprocate and ban flights from Kuwait, since this country has more infected cases of COVID-19 than many of the nations on the banned list.
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