Oman aviation: Passenger numbers at airports rise in 2016

MUSCAT: All the airports in the Sultanate registered an increase in passenger numbers as of November-end, 2016, according to data with the Oman Airports Management Company. The Muscat International Airport recorded a 17 per cent increase in the number of passengers from the beginning of the year until the end of November 2016. Of these, 10,925,795 passengers passed through the airport, compared to 9,321,617 passengers during the same period last year.
In November alone, 979,731 passengers passed through the capital’s airport compared to 854,644, reflecting a 15 per cent increase.
Civil aircraft movements also increased to 8,751 in November 2016, 8 per cent up from 8,078 in the same month last year.
It is worth mentioning that cargo and mail registered a 21 per cent increase in November when 14,105,541 kilogrammes of cargo landed in Muscat, compared to 11,616,179 kg in the same month last year.
The Salalah Airport also witnessed a 17 per cent increase in total passenger movement between January and November 2016. A total of 1,105,897 passengers travelled through the airport, compared to 943,701 in 2015. A total of 88,477 passengers travelled through Salalah Airport in November alone, compared to 78,364 last year in the same month, thus accounting for a 13 per cent increase.
Civil aircraft movement, however, fell by 2 per cent in November with 776 aircrafts travelling to Salalah, compared to 790 in 2015. The drop in aircraft movement is a result of the airlines now using larger aircrafts to transport more passengers in fewer flights.
Total movement
The Duqm Airport also witnessed an increase of 49 per cent in total passenger movement since the start of the year until the end of November 2016 with 22,304 passengers registered, compared to 14,921 for the same period last year. Civil aircraft movement during these eleven months remained stable with 374 aircrafts flying to Duqm.