Muscat: Drones were behind the decision to divert many flights from Muscat International Airport on Tuesday (December 24) night.
The unmanned aircraft were spotted in the Omani capital airspace, which disrupted the normal flow of flights at the country’s busiest airport, which was shut down for 90 minutes.
Several Oman Air flights including Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain, Cairo, Riyadh and Kuwait City were diverted to the neighbouring airports.
This is not the first time the airport was shut down because of drone activity. Last month flight operations at Muscat International Airport were suspended after a drone was spotted over airport airspace.
Use of remote control aircraft, drones or any other flying object, without adequate approval from a competent authority, is not allowed in Oman.
Under Article 63, violators found in breach of the law, risk from one to three years in prison, according to Times of Oman.
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