Oman Air cargo operations register 25 per cent increase

Muscat: Oman Air Cargo, the cargo division of Oman Air, the National Carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, is now setting globally competitive logistics standards with its upgraded cargo hub facility at the new Muscat International Air Cargo Terminal.
The new cargo facility features a 22,780 square-metre, air-conditioned warehouse with the capacity to handle 350,000 tonnes of cargo per annum – a substantially larger capacity than the previous cargo facility.
Commenting on the new Oman Air Cargo facility, Oman Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Abdulaziz Al Raisi said: “Oman Air is proud of its new cargo facility at Muscat Airport, which apart from enhancing the operations, also provides the opportunity to boost trade and commerce opportunities for the Sultanate’s economy.
Oman Air has made significant inroads in online, as well as offline cargo markets and its growth trajectory has been very strong and steady.
With the upgraded facility, Oman Air Cargo’s year-on-year statistics for the 1st half of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 indicate a 25 per cent increase in business. This follows on from a 38 per cent increase in business for the year 2017, and a 5 per cent increase in 2016.
Mohammed Ali Al Musafir, Oman Air’s Senior Vice President, Commercial Cargo said “Combined with Oman Air Cargo’s track record of providing high quality services to its logistics customers, the upgraded cargo facility now aligns the company with world-class, globally competitive transport and logistics industry standards and trends”.
The new facility includes 367 pallet or 734 container configurations for Unit Load Device (ULD) storage over three levels, as well as 2,208 Skidded Pallet Positions – all serviced by Elevating Transfer Vehicles (ETV).
There are dedicated bays that can accommodate three ‘Code F Freighter’ Aircraft, along with twenty-five 40-foot truck parking bays (or fifty 20-foot truck bays), as well as 400 car parking bays and 34 truck docks.
The facility also features Bulk Cold Rooms (consisting of 3 chillers, 2 freezers, and 1 ambient room), and ULD Cold Rooms with 28 airline pallet positions in the chiller rooms, and 8 airline pallet positions in the freezer rooms.
In addition to this, there are Scissor Lift & ULD Bypass Lane facilities, as well as X-ray machines for joining and trans-shipment cargo screening.
The facility also includes a 2,500 square-meter Live Animal Centre, a 228 square-meter Dangerous Goods Room (DGR) with the capacity to handle 90 skids and loose cartons, and a Vulnerable Goods Cage with 264 pallet positions. The Diplomatic Room, Human Remains Room, Radioactive Room and Strong Room make up the remainder of the facility’s handling units.
The entire facility is supported by 24-hour services for import and export cargo, and its automated cargo system for documentation and warehousing, export cargo acceptance, and imports cargo delivery.
The Cargo facility accompanied the development of the brand new passenger terminal at Muscat International Airport, which began its first commercial operations in March 2018. The new facility is also aligned with Oman Air’s ambitious and dynamic program of fleet and network expansion.