Oman Air cancels more than 300 flights in Sept due to grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes

Oman Air has cancelled more than 300 flights in September because of the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, the Sultanate's national carrier said in a statement.

Among the destinations affected are Hyderabad, Jaipur, Colombo, Karachi, Salalah, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Amman.

"As a result of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation's (PACA) directive on the suspension of Boeing 737 Max, we have cancelled many flights till October 1," the airline said.

"We are rebooking guests on alternative/next available flights to their destinations. We advise all our guests who are due to travel during the period to check flight status," it added.

Two deadly plane crashes killing 346 people in the span of five months, both involving Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, has compelled several countries across the globe to cancel thousands of flights in the wake of grounding of these aircraft. The deadly crashes raised concerns among aviation regulators and experts that they may have both been caused by software Boeing added to the modern version of its workhorse jet.

Earlier, PACA had said, "We are temporarily suspending operations of Boeing 737 Max aircraft into and out of all Omani airports until further notice."

GCC Airlines

According to media reports, budget carrier Flydubai Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in April that the airline is now exploring modifying its November 2017 order to purchase 225 737 Max aircraft from Boeing in a deal valued at $27 billion and may instead turn to Airbus aircraft such as the A320Neo. Besides, Sheikh Ahmed said the airline has a "right" to ask for compensation from Boeing after being forced to ground its current fleet of Max aircraft.

Recent media reports suggested that airlines are waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration to sign off on a Boeing-designed software fix for a flight control system that played a role in two deadly crashes. That fix was originally expected before April, according to an FAA directive issued in early March, but the process has been complicated by the discovery of other technical problems.

 now expects to submit all of its required software updates for approval by the end of September.