The total number of passengers travelling through airports in the Sultanate (Muscat, Salalah, Sohar and Duqm) until the end of August 2019 reached 12.04 million passengers. Meanwhile, the number of flights landing and departing from Muscat, Salalah and Sohar International Airports by the end of August 2019 reached 75,971 flights, according to the latest reported preliminary data released by the NCSI.

The total number of passengers at Muscat International Airport rose by 6.5% to 10.8 million passengers at the end of August 2019, over the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the total number of flights at Muscat International Airport fell 0.8% to 78,171 flights at the end of August 2019, from 78,773 flights for the same period of 2018.

The number of international flights at Muscat International Airport was 71,073 flights during the eight-month period of 2019 from 71,046 flights for the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the total number of international passengers at the Muscat International Airport rose by 7.4% at the end of August 2019, reaching more than 10 million passengers. This included 4.9 million passenger arrivals, 5 million passenger departures, and 20,804 passenger transits.

Meanwhile, domestic flights at Muscat International Airport fell by 8.1% to 7,098 flights at the end of August 2019, against 7,727 flights for the same period of 2018. The arrival and departure of domestic flights also dropped by 8.1% and 8.2%, respectively. The total number of domestic passengers at Muscat International Airport fell by 4.3% to 776,018 passengers in August 2019, against 810,667 passengers for the same period of the previous year. This included 384,210 passenger arrivals and 391,808 passenger departures, the NCSI report showed.

Meanwhile, according to the report, the total number of passengers at the Salalah International Airport fell by 2.4% to 962,778 passengers at the end of August 2019 compared to 986,473 passengers for the same period of 2018. The total number of flights at Salalah International Airport fell by 1.9% to 8,120 flights compared to 8,276 flights in August 2018.

The total number of international flights at the Salalah International airport surged by 19.1% to 3,331 flights till the end of August 2019, while the number of domestic fights fell by 12.6% to 4,789 flights in August 2019. The total number of international passengers recorded a rise of 12.2% to reach 368,428 passengers, while the number of domestic passengers fell by 9.7% to 594,350 passengers.

However, there was a drop in the total number of passengers at Sohar International Airport by 17.2% to 203,647 passengers for the period under study compared to 245,934 passengers for the same period of 2018. The total number of flights at Sohar International Airport also fell by 14.5% to 1,673 flights in end of August 2019 compared to 1,956 flights in end of August 2018.

Duqm Airport saw a rise in the total number of passengers by 27% to 36,766 passengers at the end of August 2019 compared to 28,939 passengers for the same period of 2018. The total number of flights at Duqm Airport till the end of August 2019 reached 406, which is the drop by 0.2% compared to 407 flights in August 2018, the report showed.