Sohar, Duqm passenger numbers up

Muscat International Airport and Salalah Airport also saw passenger numbers rise

MUSCAT: Duqm and Sohar Airports have registered strong growth since they began operations, according to Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC), with 19,000 passengers arriving and departing Sohar Airport in the last two months.

“From the end of June to the end of August, flights operating from the airport ferried around 19,000 passengers,” OAMC said on Wednesday.

Duqm Airport also saw a 25.7 per cent increase in the number of passengers between January and August 2017, the OAMC added.

The national carrier, Oman Air, in cooperation with the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD), is operating flights to Duqm Airport from Muscat International Airport.

This step comes in response to passenger traffic between the two airports, and in line with the increasing number of projects being implemented in Duqm.

Duqm Airport serves as a new gateway into a region with significant economic, industrial and commercial potential.

Even Sohar Airport is busier, having handled 18,779 passengers, the OAMC said.

From October 1, Qatar Airways will fly seven times a week to Sohar. The airline currently flies three times a week to Sohar.

Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight on the Doha-Sohar sector arrived on August 8.

It is the third airline to operate from Sohar Airport and the second international airline after Air Arabia, which started its Sohar operations on July 9.

The route is being served by Airbus A320 aircraft featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy Class.

Even Muscat International Airport saw a surge of passengers this year, with 9.36 million passengers using Muscat Airport, a 17.6 per cent increase from January to August 2017.

Meanwhile, Salalah Airport witnessed a 25.3 per cent increase in the number of passengers from January to August 2017, reporting 1 million passengers in the first eight months of this year.