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Iam travelling to Israel from India with a transit point at Muscat. My transition time at Muscat is 5 hours. On my way back to India, my transit point is again Muscat with transit time 20 long hours. I had no choice to book my ticket through Air India till Muscat ( as a rule of our company), from there I booked Turkish airlines. So, the two tickets are different and two airlines are different. Same is the case with my return journey on same airlines.

Both airline operators have told me that they can't do chek-in of my baggage till last point, and I have to manually collect it at transit point Muscat, and do re check in with next airline for my next leg of journey...both to and fro journeys

Now, my questions are below: ( I'm travelling first time in international flights)

  1. Will I be able to collect my checked-in baggage at Muscat, and go to Turkish( AIr India for return journey) airline counter to do check-in for next leg of journey ? What problems I may face ?
  2. Do I need a transit Visa if my transit time is more than 6 hours ? Is entering transfers area for catching next flight considered as leaving airport ? Do I need a Visa for entering transfer area ?

  3. Do I need to go through immigration, security check and customs if I just want to go to transfer area to catch next flight ?

  4. If due to some circumstances I'm unable to collect baggage, will there be attendants of AIr India and Turkish airlines at my arrival at Muscat to help me collecting and check-in my baggage for next leg of journey ?

thanks, Shravan

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2 Answers 2

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  1. Picking up and rechecking luggage will require going through Immigration to enter and leave Oman, so...
  2. Yes, you will need a double-entry transit visa.
  3. Since you need to pick up and check in luggage, this is not just a transfer.
  4. As a rule, no: since your flights are separate, neither Turkish nor Air India is obliged to help you.

Two potential solutions:

  1. Change flights. El Al flies BOM-TLV directly, and would be much easier than India-Muscat-Istanbul-Tel Aviv. (Yes, since you're flying Turkish, you will have another transfer at Istanbul with your current flights.)
  2. Bring only carry-on luggage, so you don't need to deal with checked bags.
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    A comment on 4; as @jpatokal said, as a rule they're not obliged to help you, but some of them do it anyway. In case you have no other option, try to get help once you're in Muscat, though it's a huge risk to go there without a visa. As for the potential solutions, those are usually not suitable to most travelers, as they really need some stuff with them, not just a few pieces of clothing, and direct flights tend to be very expensive compared to transfers. Besides, the OP probably already booked a non-refundable journey.
    – downhand
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 8:09
  • The OP clearly says that he is obliged to travel on Air India via Muscat (as per his employer's rules) ...
    – Maître Peseur
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 9:34
  • @AndréPeseur Not all rules are carved in stone. What's the employer going to do if his transit visa is denied?
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 12:09
  • I just wanted to draw your attention to the fact that the air india flight was presented as unavoidable which in turn invalidazes one of the solutions
    – Maître Peseur
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 12:18
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You will not be able to collect your bags, as there is no airside baggage claim in Oman.

At some airports (like Dubai), there is a (premium - ie, paid) service for transit passengers that allows staff to collect bags and re-check them in for the next flight - but this depends entirely on the airlines involved as some do not allow this.

At Muscat International Airport, the lounge services are provided by Plaza Network; they offer "baggage services" (but no further details are provided on their website). They can also assist with your transit visa.

As you cannot select your final in-bound flight; I would recommend contacting the lounge operator to see if they can assist, or at minimum - get them to assist you with the transit visa so you can collect your bags and re-check them for your final leg.

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