Salalah Airport’s new cargo terminal begins operations

Salalah: Oman Aviation Services (OAS) of Oman Aviation Group (OAG) on Wednesday launched the new cargo terminal at Salalah Airport in the presence of Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications.
Dr. Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi, CEO of the Public Authority of Civil Aviation (PACA) and Abdullah bin Aqeel Al Ibrahim, Acting Deputy Governor of Dhofar and a number of specialists, attended the ceremony.
The Minister of Transport and Communications, said that the civil aviation system in the Sultanate has witnessed great coverage in the past years by opening several important facilities in this sector and modernising them to cope with modern buildings. He said in a statement to the media that the operation of the air cargo terminal at Salalah airport is a continuation of the previous facilities that were put into operation or opened, which is a very important part of the marketing of air cargo.
Dr. Al Futaisi, said that Oman Aviation Group has worked on formulating an air cargo strategy in the Sultanate in general, with the aim of reaching a cargo volume of 730,000 tonnes per year by 2030. Currently, 210,000 tonnes of cargo are handled annually.
He said that a roadmap has been developed based on key components, the most important of which are marketing, encouraging direct air and sea imports, reducing imports and exports through land ports, and focusing more on the large potentials reached by Omani ports and airports.
On the other hand, Dr. Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi, CEO of PACA said “The project of the air cargo terminal at Salalah airport lasted about three years at a cost of OMR34 million. It was supervised by the technical committee to follow up the airport projects under the umbrella of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. At the completion of the air cargo building, all the infrastructure at Salalah airport has been completed in terms of passenger, as well as cargo.” He said that the cargo terminal at Salalah Airport is part of the 12th package for the development of Muscat International Airport and Salalah Airport, which includes the air cargo terminal at Muscat International Airport, the Salalah Airport cargo terminal and the aircraft maintenance building in Muscat.
Oman Aviation Services (OAS) started receiving shipping orders from the new building as of 8 am the Sultanate time. At 10:30 the building received the first cargo flight and the first cargo flight left at 11:20 am.