Oman has experienced a drastic increase in passenger traffic throughout its airports since the start of FIFA 2022. As per the data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) about 6,969,976 passengers have passed through the Omani airports in the first nine months of 2022, until September 30, 2022. This shows an increase of 168% in the number of arrivals and a 120% increase in departures as compared to the same period in 2021.
The report also shows that the number of international flights increased by 110% to 55,814 as compared to just 26.636 last year. Experts have attributed this drastic rise in passengers due to the peak demand for travel in the Middle East due to FIFA World Cup in Doha along with the enormous employment opportunities for people from South Asian countries.
Muscat International Airport (MCT) witnessed the highest passenger footfalls, with 5,975,726 travelers this year up from 2,373,363 last year, an increase of 114%.
Meanwhile, Salalah International Airport (SLL) experienced a 221% increase in the number of international flights and a 39% increase in the number of domestic flights from 2,774 last year to 3,857 this year. Suhar International Airport (OHS) hosted 585 international flights and 55,243 passengers, while Duqm Airport (DQM) saw a 5% increase in the number of domestic flights from 468 last year to 490 this year.
Interestingly, the majority of travelers were from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.