Kuwait Times, Sunday, Aug 15, 2021 | Muharram 6, 1443
Kuwait airport passenger capacity ‘quietly’ increased to 7,500 a day?
Kuwait:
The price of return
tickets to Kuwait are incredibly high, not only because it’s the high season,
but mainly due to the limited seat quota set for most airlines, not including
local carriers. Passengers are facing a tough situation after many had their
tickets canceled although the flight was not, despite their tickets being
confirmed months ago.
This situation is the result of the restricted number of arriving passengers set
by the Cabinet last year. After the pandemic situation in Kuwait started to
improve positively, more businesses reopened, and people expected the airport to
be fully operational as well.
The ministerial committee for coronavirus emergencies is in charge of increasing
the maximum number of passengers arriving at Kuwait airport. On Aug 4, the
committee met and decided to increase the number or arriving passengers from
5,000 to 7,500 daily, starting from Aug 8, 2021. Travel agencies confirmed the
quota was increased for most airlines, but some agencies told Kuwait Times they
haven’t noticed that this decision has been applied yet, as there is still a
great shortage of tickets on flights arriving to Kuwait.
Ahmad from Waseet Agency said the problem of ticket cancelations is only
happening with one particular airline. “Most airlines are now flying fully
booked or almost fully booked since last week. But we are facing a problem of
cancelation with one airline – and I personally had three cases of cancelation
this week. These passengers can file a complaint against this airline at the
Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), which issued a statement in this
regard last week,” he told Kuwait Times.
The government is yet to make an official announcement to increase passenger
capacity at Kuwait International Airport; which has been expected ever since
Kuwait allowed the entry of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on Aug
1. But according to an official from the DGCA, the decision to increase the
number of arriving passengers is already in effect from Aug 8.
“The division of this number among various airlines is done according to market
demand. Till now no new flights have been added, so the number will mostly be
divided among existing flights. This should relieve the pressure and avoid the
inconvenience of further cancelations,” he explained.