Passenger traffic grows at Muscat, Salalah airports

Muscat: Muscat International Airport recorded a 19.5 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of passengers (international and domestic) during the first four months of the current year, with the passenger count exceeding 4.194 million as against 3.23 million last year, according to the latest bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics & Information.
The number of flights (international and domestic), on the other hand, grew by 10.8 per cent to touch 32,938, compared with 29,732 during the same period, last year.
International passengers increased 20.4 per cent to over 3.56 million passengers from last year’s 2.96 million, while domestic passenger volume shot up by 9.6 per cent to 297,321 passengers compared with 271,280 in 2015.
International arrivals rose 21.3 per cent to nearly 1.82 million, while the number of international passenger departures went up by 20.5 per cent to over 1.74 million during the four-month period.
The number of transit passengers however declined 60.3 per cent to 6,681.
Domestic passenger count (arrivals and departures) logged a growth of 9.6 per cent to 297,321 passengers in comparison with 271,280 passengers during the same period of 2015.
The NCSI report indicates a 14.4 per cent rise in the number of international flights (landings and take-off) at 30,007, as against 26,241 flights recorded last year. Domestic flights, however, declined 16.0 per cent to 2,931, from last year’s 3,491.
The passenger traffic at the Salalah Airport grew 16 per cent during the first four months of the current year to 336,104 passengers as against 288,715 during the same period of last year. The number of flights at the airport on the other hand fell 4.4 per cent to 2,851, compared with 2,981 flights last year, according to the latest report by the National Centre for Statistics & Information (NCSI).
International flights increased 12.9 per cent to 1,264 flights, while domestic flights decreased 14.7 per cent to 1,587 during the period, compared with figures for the same period of 2015.
Meanwhile, international passenger count at the airport reported a growth of 27.6 per cent to 127,313 passengers, while domestic passengers increased by 10.5 per cent to 208,791 passengers during the period.