Gulf's airlines struggle as regional services get hit with new restrictions | Aviation – Gulf News
New restrictions on flights from within the region are not helping Gulf’s airlines to make a comeback from the turmoil they suffered in 2020.
Last month, Saudi Arabia banned entry of passengers from 20 countries, including the UAE, to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
And then, passengers were caught in a bind when Kuwait took a U-turn on its decision to allow non-Kuwaitis into the country. Two hours before the country’s airport was supposed to start welcoming non-Kuwaiti passengers after a two-week ban, the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced that non-Kuwaitis are barred until further notice.
All of these last-minute regulatory changes are not doing already battered airlines any favors. Air travel demand in the Middle East plunged 82.3 per cent in January compared to a year ago - and unchanged from the 82.6 per cent demand drop in December.
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