Muscat: Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) show that international flights that made connection via Muscat, Salalah and Sohar airports grew by 113% to 20,640 by the end of May 2022, as against 9,679 international flights during the corresponding period in 2021.
According to the NCSI, the number of arriving passengers via the Sultanate of Oman’s airports (including transit passengers) saw a 135% increase to 3,045,519 by the end of May 2022, while the number of departing passengers grew by 94% compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
The overall number of flights (internal and international—arrivals and departures put together) via Muscat International Airport grew by 90.2% to 21,930 as at the end of May 2022. These flights carried as many as 2,628,203 passengers, compared to 1,235,740 passengers carried onboard 11,533 flights during the corresponding period in 2021.
Salalah Airport registered a 68.9% increase in number of flights (internal, international) to 2,743 flights by the end of May 2022. In a breakup, the NCSI’s figures show that the number of international flights via Salalah Airport surged by 162.7%, while internal flights grew by 31.4% to 1,524, compared to 1,160 during the corresponding period in 2021. The number of passengers onboard those flights (arriving, departing) via Salalah Airport rose by 57.3% by the end of May 2022, compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
Sohar Airport registered 312 flights in number of flights (departures, arrivals) by the end of May 2022. The number of passengers in international flights via Sohar Airport (arriving, departing) stood at 28,101.
Duqm Airport posted a 6.9% increase in international flights (280 arrivals and departures put together) by the end of May 2022, compared to 262 flights during the corresponding period in 2021. There, the number of passengers grew by 39.7% from 18,804 to 26,263 by the end of May 2022, as against the corresponding period in 2021.
Nationality-wise, Indians topped the list of passengers (125,185) who travelled via Muscat International Airport till the end of May 2022, followed by Bangladesh passengers (44,671) and Pakistani passengers (31,191) by the end of May 2022.
