KUWAIT CITY, July 2, (Agencies): The Kuwait Travel & Tourism Agencies Association (KTTAA) has welcomed the announcement regarding the reopening of Kuwait International Airport for commercial flights (both arrivals and departures) but it stressed that the announced operational plan is very long and slow.

In a press statement, the association said it understands that work needs to be resumed gradually, especially in the first stage but for the second stage to begin after six months and the third after a year from now seems to be a very long and slow plan.

It stated, “We have not heard of any of the Gulf or even European airports adopting an operational plan of this length,” highlighting the economic principle of demand and supply, which would increase the prices when the supply decreases.

The association affirmed, “We believe that the plan will restrict the supply of flights to the passengers and reduce the options available to the travelers. This could result in the value of tickets rising inevitably to more than their actual value. Such an increase in value will overwhelm both citizens and residents.”

KTTAA called on the government and the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) to review the operational timeline period for Kuwait International Airport to three months for each stage instead of the current period of six months for each stage, such that the beginning of the second stage will be on November 2020 and the third will be on February 2021, in order to reach the airport’s full operating plan.

The association insisted that following this proposal will have an effective impact in bringing back the situation to a normal state.