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Muscat International Airport

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Muscat International Airport (IATA: MCT, ICAO: OOMS), formerly Seeb International Airport,[1] is the main international airport in Oman and is located in Seeb, 32 km from the old city and capital Muscat within the Muscat metropolitan area. The airport serves as the hub for flag carrier Oman Air and Oman's first budget airline, Salam Air, and features flights to several regional destinations as well as some intercontinental services to Asia, Africa and Europe.

Muscat International Airport

مطار مسقط الدولي
Aerial view of Muscat International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorOman Airports
ServesMuscat
LocationSeeb, Oman
Opened1973; 51 years ago (1973)
Hub for
Elevation AMSL48 ft / 15 m
Coordinates23°35′36″N 058°17′04″E / 23.59333°N 58.28444°E / 23.59333; 58.28444
Websitemuscatairport.co.om
Maps
MCT is located in Oman
MCT
MCT
Location of airport in Oman
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
08R/26L 13,385 4,080 Asphalt
08L/26R 13,123 4,000 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Total passengers14,034,865 Increase
Total aircraft movements114,258 Increase

History

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Muscat's original airport, Bayt al Falaj, began operations in 1929. It served as the capital's first airport and was known for sharp turns and steep descents. Airlines such as Gulf Aviation (later Gulf Air) and Oman International Services were its first users.

With the need for larger space to expand operations, the current airport was built on its present site, and opened as Seeb International Airport on January 1, 1973.[2]

It has hosted Royal Air Force BAe Nimrods in the past, including for the 1991 Gulf War. These aircraft cooperated with the Royal Navy of Oman in the 'Magic Roundabout' exercise series.[3] The base was used by a detachment of Vickers VC10 tankers from No. 101 Squadron RAF during the Gulf War training with Royal Air Force SEPECAT Jaguars.[4]

On 1 February 2008, the airport was given its present name.[1]

Facilities

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The airport is spread over an area of 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres). It originally featured one passenger terminal building and one runway, as well as minor cargo and maintenance facilities. Part of the airport complex extension featured housing for airport employees and Oman Air employees.

During the expansion, a new terminal and control tower was built along with a new runway. The current terminal is the biggest airport in Oman. Construction was started in 2007, and the airport opened in 2018. The new facilities also include a VIP terminal for private jets and an onsite airport hotel.

The airport is also a joint-use military and public facility, acting as the base of operations for both the Royal Flight of Oman and Royal Air Force of Oman. A Royal Terminal and Royal Flight hangars are located adjacent to the old terminal.

In 2019, the Aaronia AARTOS C-UAS drone detection system was installed,[5] which makes this the first international airport in the world to have an operational drone detection system.

Terminals

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Terminal 1 (new terminal)

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Terminal 1 (new terminal)

The airport's newer and significantly larger terminal located north of the existing terminal and first runway opened in 2018. This new building initially brought the airport's capacity up to 20 million passengers a year upon completion of the first phase.[6] Subsequent enlargements under second and third phases will increase the airport capacity to 24 and 48 million annual passengers respectively.[6] The terminal covers 580,000 sqm and features 118 check-in counters, 10 baggage reclaim belts, 82 immigration counters, 45 gates and a new, 97-meter control tower. The new terminal is located between the old and new runways and is capable of handling large aircraft such as Airbus A380s and Boeing 747s.[7] The terminal opened on 18 March 2018, with the first flight, an Oman Air flight from Najaf, arriving at 6:30 p.m.[8]

Terminal 2 (old terminal)

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Terminal 2 is a single-building, two-story, T-shaped passenger terminal. Built in 1970, it opened in 1973 as a replacement of the Bait al-Falaj airport and has been expanded several times during the last years to cater for growing passenger numbers.[9] This terminal featured 58 check-in counters, 23 departure gates, four baggage reclaim belts and several service counters and shops.[9] A new pier was constructed in 2007, with additional shops, restaurants, and outlets, opening in 2009. During its years of operation, passengers and crew were transported to and from the aircraft using shuttle buses as the terminal offered no jet bridges.

The last international flight to depart from the old terminal was an Oman Air flight to Zurich, Switzerland, while another Oman Air flight bound for Salalah became the last domestic flight.[8] The old facility was planned to be redeveloped into a low-cost carrier terminal,[10] but was instead turned into a field hospital and COVID-19 vaccination site ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.

Runways and apron

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The airport features two runways: the original Runway 08R/26L and the second Runway 08L/26R, situated north of the new terminal building and inaugurated on 14 December 2014. Both runways are equipped to accommodate large aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380, and the Antonov An-225. The original runway, situated between the new and the former passenger terminal, underwent closure in 2015 for refurbishment and expansion,[11] aligning with the construction of a completely new main terminal building and apron area. The refurbishment of the original runway was finalized in October 2023, and it officially resumed operations in November 2023.[12]

The old terminal's apron features 32 stands[9] on both sides of the T-shaped passenger terminal building with 30 new ones constructed in two phases[7] in front of the new terminal building, of which several were already in use as of September 2016.

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Muscat:[13]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Cairo,[14] Sharjah
Airblue Lahore
Air India Mumbai
Air India Express[15] Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow,[16] Mangalore, Mumbai,[17] Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli
Air SialLahore
Badr Airlines Port Sudan[18]
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet1
Cham Wings Airlines Damascus
Edelweiss Air Zürich[19][20]
Egyptair Cairo
Emirates Dubai–International
Enter AirKatowice, Warsaw–Chopin
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi
Flydubai Dubai–International
Fly Jinnah Islamabad
Gulf Air Bahrain
IndiGo Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai
Iraqi AirwaysBaghdad
Jazeera Airways Kuwait City[citation needed]
Karun Airlines Bandar Abbas
Kish Air Shiraz
Kuwait Airways Seasonal: Kuwait City[21]
Oman Air[22] Abu Dhabi, Amman–Queen Alia, Bahrain, Bangalore, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Cairo, Chennai, Dammam, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai–International, Duqm, Frankfurt, Goa–Mopa,[23] Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Jeddah, Karachi, Khasab, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait City, London–Heathrow, Lucknow, Manila, Mashhad, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[24] Mumbai, Munich, Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[25] Phuket,[26] Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino (begins 20 December 2024),[27] Salalah,[28] Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Thiruvananthapuram,[29] Trabzon, Zanzibar
Seasonal: Malé,[30][31] Zürich[32]
Pakistan International Airlines Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot
Pars Air Isfahan, Shiraz
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways Doha
Qeshm Air Mashhad, Qeshm, Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
SalamAir[22] Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Bahrain, Baghdad, Bangalore,[33] Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bishkek,[34] Chennai,[35] Chittagong, Colombo–Bandaranaike, Dammam, Delhi,[36] Dhaka, Doha, Dubai–International, Duqm,[37] Faisalabad,[38] Fujairah,[39] Giza,[40] Hyderabad,[41] Islamabad,[42] Istanbul,[43] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jaipur,[41] Jeddah, Karachi, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kozhikode,[41] Kuwait City, Lahore,[42] Lucknow,[41] Mashhad, Masirah,[44] Medina, Multan, Mumbai,[45] Munich,[46] Osh,[34] Peshawar,[38] Phuket, Quetta,[38] Riyadh, Salalah, Shiraz, Sialkot, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Thiruvananthapuram,[41] Yerevan (begins 28 December 2024)[47][48]
Seasonal: Almaty,[49] Baku, Beirut,[50][51] Bursa, Prague,[52] Rize–Artvin,[49] Sarajevo, Ta'if, Tbilisi, Tirana,[53] Trabzon
Charter: Mukhaizna[54]
Saudia Jeddah
Sepehran Airlines Mashhad, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
SunExpress Trabzon[55]
Taban Air Mashhad, Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini[56]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
US-Bangla Airlines Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet[57]
Varesh Airlines Isfahan, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi[58]
Notes
  • ^1 Biman Bangladesh Airlines' flights from Muscat to Dhaka make a stop at Sylhet. However, the flight from Dhaka to Muscat is non-stop.

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux[59] Luxembourg
Oman Air Cargo[60] Hyderabad
One Air[61] Hong Kong, London–Heathrow
Qatar Airways Cargo[62] Doha
SalamAir Cargo[63] Dhaka, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Khartoum, Mumbai

Statistics

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Aerial view of the entire airport showing the new terminal in the center with the old facilities on top
 
Terminal 2, the former main building
 
Oman Air Airbus A330-300s parked on the apron of the old terminal. Until the opening of the new terminal, there were no jetbridges available.
Annual passenger traffic at MCT airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger and freight total[64]
Year Passengers Freight in MT Aircraft movements
2020 4,085,499   109,806   35,188
2019 16,038,844   240,285   117,601
2018 15,392,095   212,764   118,698
2017 14,061,732   200,852   114,360
2016 12,031,496   180,332   103,326
2015 10,315,358   154,868   103,915
2014 8,709,505   121,368   92,347
2013 8,310,927   120,667   90,223
2012 7,546,716   112,306   81,486
2011 6,479,860   98,085   78,650
2010 5,752,017   96,696   79,710
2009 4,558,002   63,764   66,872
2008 4,001,393   57,887   58,346
2007 4,219,000   76,448   49,806
2006 4,778,000   97,908   49,901
2005 4,071,000   76,563   52,781
2004 3,461,000  67,151   43,622
2003 2,886,000   48,630   42,330
2002 2,447,000   46,934   39,555
2001 2,700,992  [65] 71,830  [65] 35,064[65]
2000 2,721,393[65] 69,696[65] 36,082[65]

Ground transport

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Oman National Transport Company (Mwasalat) operates 24-hour service special airport buses at fixed intervals. The Route A1 operates between Mabela and Ruwi bus station with a stop at Muscat Airport. Bus Route 8 (Al Mouj-Al Khuwair) also has a stop at Muscat Airport. Metered-airport taxis are available with special counters at the baggage and arrival halls. Car hire and chauffeur services are also available. [66]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Oman Airports". www.omanairports.co.om. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Airport History". Oman Airports Management Company. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  3. ^ Gp Capt Brian Burridge, Royal Air Force Nimrods in the Gulf Archived 3 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "19 Years Over Iraq". The Official RAF Annual Review 2010. Stamford: Key Publishing: 9. December 2010.
  5. ^ "Drone Detection System for Muscat Intl Airport". 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b "New terminal complex for Muscat International Airport". Bechtel.
  7. ^ a b omanairports.co.om - New Airport Development Archived 20 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 30 September 2016
  8. ^ a b "As it happened: Opening of new Muscat International Airport terminal". Times of Oman. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b c omanairports.co.om - Airport Development Archived 3 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "New Muscat airport terminal to open on March 20". gulfnews.com. 31 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Pilot information for Muscat international Airport". Our Airports. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  12. ^ Nahdi, Suhail al; Observer, Oman Daily. "Southern runway of Muscat Airport to be operational in October". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  13. ^ omanairports.co.om - TimeTable Archived 2 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 23 July 2016
  14. ^ "Fly direct from Cairo to Muscat | Air Arabia". www.airarabia.com.
  15. ^ "Our Network". Air India Express. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Air India Express expands flights from Lucknow". AviationAll. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Air India Express 2Q24 Middle East Network Additions". AeroRoutes. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Badr Airlines Expands Port Sudan Network From Nov 2023".
  19. ^ Liu, Jim. "Edelweiss Air files preliminary Muscat service from Nov 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Edelweiss Air NW24 MENA Network Expansion".
  21. ^ "Kuwait Airways NW22 Removed Routes Summary – 18SEP22".
  22. ^ a b "Oman Air / Salam Air Expands Codeshare Service from June 2024".
  23. ^ "OMAN AIR NS23 GOA OPERATIONS". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  24. ^ Liu, Jim (14 June 2024). "Oman Air June – Oct 2024 Moscow Service Changes". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Oman Air Increases Paris Flights from late-Oct 2023".
  26. ^ "Oman Air adds Phuket service from Nov 2022". AeroRoutes. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Oman Air Schedules Rome late-Dec 2024 Launch". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Oman Air Doing Business Guide". OmanAir. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  29. ^ Khan, Faiz (4 September 2023). "Oman Air and Salam Air Launches New Flights to Kerala". Aviation A2Z. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  30. ^ "OMAN AIR RESUMES MALDIVES SERVICE FROM JUNE 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  31. ^ "Oman Air NS24 Network Changes – 29JAN24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Oman Air Closes NS24 Zurich Reservations".
  33. ^ "SALAMAIR TENTATIVELY PLANS BANGALORE SEP 2024 LAUNCH". AeroRoutes. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  34. ^ a b "SalamAir expands network with flights to Kyrgyzstan cities". Trade Arabia. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  35. ^ "SALAMAIR SCHEDULES CHENNAI JULY 2024 LAUNCH". Aeroroutes. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  36. ^ "SALAMAIR NS24 NETWORK ADDITIONS". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  37. ^ "Salam Air to operate six weekly flights between Muscat and Duqm". Times of Oman. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  38. ^ a b c "SalamAir Boosts Pakistan Network in October 2023".
  39. ^ "SalamAir Adds Fujairah Service From July 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  40. ^ "SALAMAIR ADDS GIZA SPHINX SERVICE FROM MID-JUNE 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  41. ^ a b c d e Cherian, Dona (21 November 2023). "Oman's SalamAir launches routes to five destinations in India". Gulf News. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  42. ^ a b "SALAMAIR JUNE 2024 SOUTH ASIA NETWORK EXPANSION". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  43. ^ "SalamAir Adds Istanbul Service From mid-Dec 2022". Aeroroutes. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  44. ^ "SalamAir Adds Masirah / Namangan Service From Nov 2022". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  45. ^ "Oman: SalamAir expands network linking Bengaluru, Mumbai".
  46. ^ "SALAMAIR SCHEDULES MUNICH LATE-SEP 2023 LAUNCH". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  47. ^ {{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/share/r/P8p8HRA5nPMtWLRx/?mibextid=D5vuiz
  48. ^ https://bm.ge/en/news/direct-flights-to-be-launched-between-armenia-and-oman
  49. ^ a b "SALAMAIR ADDS ALMATY / RIZE IN 3Q23". aeroroutes.com. 28 March 2023.
  50. ^ "Flights From Muscat to Beirut". 29 June 2023.
  51. ^ "Salamair Adds Bangkok Service in Late-Dec 2022". Aeroroutes. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  52. ^ "SalamAir to launch direct flights to 5 new destinations".
  53. ^ "SalamAir NS24 Network Additions".
  54. ^ "Salam Air plans Mukhaizna charters from June 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  55. ^ "SUNEXPRESS ADDS TRABZON – MUSCAT IN NW24". 2024-06-26.
  56. ^ Liu, Jim. "Taban Air increases Oman flights from August 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  57. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines makes maiden flight on Sylhet-Muscat route". The Daily Star. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  58. ^ "WIZZ – Dream more. Live more. Be more". wizzair.com.
  59. ^ cargolux.com - Network & Offices retrieved 23 March 2020
  60. ^ Jeffrey, Rebecca (13 December 2023). "Oman Air launches first freighter service". Air Cargo News. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  61. ^ "British cargo airline One Air six times to Maastricht Aachen Airport in December". 14 December 2023.
  62. ^ "Qatar Airways Cargo". www.qrcargo.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  63. ^ "SalamAir Cargo 1Q23 Operations".
  64. ^ "Transport - Data Portal". data.gov.om. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  65. ^ a b c d e f "Welcome to OAMC". 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  66. ^ omanairports.co.om - Transportation from/to Muscat International Airport - Muscat Airport Archived 14 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 23 July 2016
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