New Muscat International Airport terminal construction on track

Muscat: Construction of the new Muscat International Airport continues on schedule, as the airport is expected to open as early as next year.
Coupling traditional Omani culture with modern design, the new terminal will be able to handle 12 million passengers per year, with plans calling for increasing the annual passenger load to 48 million passengers per year, to be carried out in a series of phased construction projects.
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Additionally, the new airport will boast 118 check-in counters for international and domestic flights, along with 82 immigration counters.
There will also be areas set aside for duty free purchases, retail stores, restaurants and cafés. Passengers will be able to take advantage of 40 gates for both departing and arriving flights, along with 29 waiting lounges.
Further, 16 additional waiting lounges have been built for those passengers being transported to aircraft by bus.
Passengers will also experience the faster boarding of aircraft, as air bridges leading to the aircraft from the gates splits into two, with one leading to first and business class, while the other is for the use of economy passengers, to assure boarding and disembarking is fast and efficient.
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There are to be 10 belts in the baggage claim area, with eight of them for international flights and two for domestic passengers.
While waiting for friends or family members,the new arrival area will allow public access to restaurants, cafés and retail stores, as well as offer a top-down view of passengers claiming their bags.
Of note, the 68,000 square meter – 5-level parking area in the north of the airport will hold 1,100 vehicles, while another 67,000 square meter parking area will accommodate some 1,200 vehicles.