16 per cent rise in passengers at Muscat airport, Salalah numbers rise too

Combined passenger numbers of the Muscat International and Salalah airports are inching towards the 9 million mark, according to latest government data.

The total number of passengers in Muscat International and Salalah Airports reached 8,717,854 until the end of July 2017. The total number of international flights at the two international airports reached 61,241.

There was a 19 per cent increase in total departures through the airports during the period and 16 per cent increase in the total arrivals until the end of July this year, according to figures released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Flights, both domestic and international, at Muscat International Airport increased 10.0 per cent to touch 64,879 until the end of July 2017 compared to 58,965 flights during the same period last year. The number of passengers at Muscat International Airport reached 7,863,684 until July end 2017 compared to 6,778,631 passengers in 2016, registering a 16.0 per cent growth.

The number of transit passengers grew by 144.9 per cent to 19,679 from 8,036 passengers last year. According to the nationality of the carriers, flights from India registered 79,318 take offs and 115,548 landings followed by Bangladesh with 21,204 take offs and 22,835 landings at the Muscat International Airport. Flights from Pakistan registered 16,988 take offs and 21,424 landings, according to the NCSI data.

The total number of domestic flights rose by 29 per cent to 6,899 flights from 5,347 flights. The passenger numbers were up to 660,798 from 549,111 passengers, registering a 20.3 per cent rise.

Salalah Airport registered a 51.6 per cent growth in flight movement to 8,358 compared to 5,512 flights during the previous year. While the total number of international flights went up by 34.3 per cent to 3,261 flights from 2,429 flights in 2016, domestic flights registered a 65.3 per cent growth to 5,097 flights this year compared to 3,083 flights during the same period of 2016.

International passenger number was up substantially to 329,926 at the end of July 2017 compared to 224,803 passengers in the same period of 2016, which was a 46.8 per cent growth.

The total domestic passenger number was up by 30.6 per cent to 524,244 in 2017 from 401,565 at the end of July 2016, according to the NCSI data