The Kuwait International Airport, which sustained heavy damage in the Iranian drone attack, could face flight disruptions, according to reports quoting an International Air Transport Association (IATA) official. This comes as eight major airlines, including FlyDubai, IndiGo, Gulf Air, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, Emirates, and Etihad Airways, simultaneously suspended 15 flights over the last two days.
A report quoting Kamil Alawadhi, IATA’s regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East, said the damage seen at Kuwait airport appeared severe based on images and early assessments. He was speaking to the media at the 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS) in Rio de Janeiro, according to the Gulf News.
Though the Kuwaiti officials are yet to clarify the extend of damage, Alawadhi said the videos and pictures showed the repairs could take “atleast a year”. “From the videos and pictures sent to me, my guess is that recovery could take at least a year. The roof is gone,” he said.
The disruption, according to him, is significant because the affected terminal handled most foreign airlines operating into Kuwait. At the moment, the only airlines that can operate in and out of Kuwait are Kuwait Airways and Jazeera,” he said. The Kuwaiti carriers use the separate terminals.
He added that authorities may need to fast-track parts of Kuwait’s new airport terminal project or temporarily allow foreign airlines to use terminals currently reserved for local operators. "The only solution I have is either they do finish some part of the new terminal really quickly, which is terminal two, or they allow the other operators to use the Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways terminals as well," he said.
Meanwhile, disruptions continue at Kuwait International Airport. Etihad Airways announced on Friday that it would cancel flights between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait until June 15.
