During the first four months of 2024, Oman’s airports witnessed a surge in traffic with both passenger traffic and flight numbers rising substantially. The latest data from the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) reveals that over 4.9 million passengers traveled through Oman’s airports, a 16.4 percent annual increase. The total number of flights also saw an increase to 36,000 from 32,000 during the same period last year. That is a 12.3 percent growth. During the first two months alone, Oman’s airports welcomed 2.7 million passengers.
Muscat International Airport
In terms of passenger numbers and flights, Muscat International Airport served as the country’s main travel hub. The airport handled around 4.4 million passengers during the first four months of the year, marking a 16.8 percent increase from 3.7 million passengers during the first four months of 2023. In addition, the airport reported a 12.4 percent increase in the number of flights to 32,500 international and domestic flights.
Another airport witnessing strong growth is Oman’s Salalah airport, which saw a 9.9 percent increase in the number of passengers to 429,181 and a rise in the summer of flights to 3,122.
Sohar airport surges
In addition, Sohar airport witnessed the most dramatic growth with a 295 percent increase in the number of passengers to 22,390 from 5,669 in the same period last year.
The surge in Oman’s airport passenger traffic has already exceeded forecasts by BMI, which predicted a 24.7 percent annual growth in arrivals for 2024, totaling 5.3 million visitors during the first four months alone.
In an effort to further support its tourism sector, Oman recently announced that it plans to build six new airports by 2028-2029. Upon completion, the country expects the number of passengers using its airports to reach 50 million by 2040 from the current 17 million.
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