Oman airports witness 135% jump in passengers

Muscat: International flights via Muscat, Salalah and Sohar airports in Oman registered an increase of 113 percent to 20,640 flights by the end of May 2022, as against 9,679 flights during the corresponding period in 2021.

According to the report issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information, the number of passenger arriving at the Sultanate airports (including transit passengers) saw a 135 percent increase to 3,045,519 passengers by the end of May 2022, while the number of departing passengers grew by 94 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

The overall number of flights (internal and international — arrivals and departures put together) via Muscat International Airport grew by 90.2 percent to 21,930 at the end of May 2022. These flights carried as many as 2,628,203 passengers, compared to 1,235,740 passengers onboard 11,533 flights during the corresponding period in 2021.

Salalah Airport registered a 68.9 percent increase in the number of flights (internal and international) to 2,743 flights by the end of May 2022. In a breakup, the NCSI’s figures show that the number of international flights via Salalah Airport surged by 162.7 percent, while internal flights grew by 31.4 percent to 1,524, compared to 1,160 during the corresponding period in 2021.

The number of passengers onboard those flights (arriving and departing) via Salalah Airport rose by 57.3 percent by the end of May 2022, compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
Sohar Airport registered 312 flights (departures and arrivals) by the end of May 2022.

The number of passengers aboard international flights via Sohar Airport (arriving and departing) stood at 28,101.

Duqm Airport posted a 6,9 percent increase in international flights (280 arrivals and departures) by the end of May 2022, compared to 262 flights during the corresponding period in 2021. There, the number of passengers grew by 39.7 percent from 18,804 to 26,263 by the end of May 2022, as against the corresponding period in 2021.
Nationality-wise, Indians topped the list of passengers (125,185) who travelled via Muscat International Airport till the end of May 2022, followed by Bangladesh passengers (44,671) and Pakistani passengers (31,191) by the end of May 2022.

With ONA inputs