Muscat: According to preliminary statistics from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the Sultanate of Oman witnessed a significant increase in the number of passengers passing through its airports by the end of February 2024. The total number of passengers reached 2.71 million, marking a 21.8 percent increase compared to the previous year's figure of 2.23 million passengers by the end of February 2023.
Specifically, Muscat International Airport played a major role in this growth, with a total of approximately 2,463,856 passengers passing through its gates by the end of February 2024. This represents a substantial increase of 22.9 percent. These passengers were accommodated on 16,996 flights, which also experienced a notable rise of 16.4 percent compared to the previous year. Out of these flights, 15,678 were international flights, carrying 2,288,119 passengers, while 1,318 were domestic flights, accommodating 175,737 passengers.
In terms of nationalities, Indians constituted the highest number of passengers at Muscat International Airport during February 2024, with 75,521 arrivals and 70,951 departures. They were followed by Bangladeshi nationals, with 15,867 inbound passengers and 20,980 outbound passengers, and Pakistani nationals, with 23,803 arriving passengers and 21,740 departing passengers.
Moving on to other airports in Oman, Salalah Airport witnessed a 10.1 percent increase in the number of passengers, reaching a total of 232,077 passengers. These passengers traveled on 1,572 flights, which experienced a 6.1 percent increase. Among these flights, 840 were international flights, carrying 115,060 passengers, while 732 were domestic flights, accommodating 117,017 passengers.
Lastly, Sohar Airport served 11,410 passengers on 110 flights, while Duqm Airport accommodated 10,492 passengers on 104 flights. These figures highlight the overall growth and positive trends in Oman's aviation sector.
