Oman Air's cargo handling delays at Muscat to increase over Eid holiday

MUSCAT airport ground handler Oman Air, already beleaguered with a cargo backlog after installing new software, is bracing for more delays ahead of Muslim Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, the breaking of fasting after Ramadan, reports the Muscat Daily.

Cargo from more than 250 flights is now pending, which includes consignments for Royal Air Force Oman (RAFO), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and some oil companies, reports the Muscat Daily.

On August 1, Oman Air, the sole ground handling operator at the airport, was experiencing troubles with new cargo-handling software, which has led to the first backlog.

"We have an urgent AOG [aircraft on ground] consignment for RAFO, which reached Muscat on July 25. We got the delivery order from Oman Air, but the items are reported missing as the warehouses are filled beyond capacity," the ground handler said.

"Likewise, the cargo containing aircraft parts for MoD arrived on July 22, but is yet to be cleared," said Ali al Balushi from Kanoo and Company," the newspaper reported officials saying.

Also, the amount of cargo cleared has drastically reduced."My office used to clear four tonnes of cargo per day before Oman Air Cargo introduced the new clearance system. Now, we can hardly clear 400kg per day," said Santosh George, air freight manager at Neva Logistics.

Oman Air introduced the new system, Mercator-Emirates System Skychain, on July 19. Oman Air general manager Gonzalo Jacob said delays will be rectified soon.