AIR PASSENGER NUMBERS DROP 69.5%

A total of 4.10mn passengers travelled through airports in the sultanate (Muscat, Salalah, Sohar and Duqm) at the end of October 2020. The number of flights landing and departing from Muscat, Salalah and Sohar airports in the same period was 29,999, according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and information (NCSI).

The average drop in passenger numbers in the four airports at the end of October 2020 was 69.5 per cent, compared to the same period of previous year.

The total number of passengers at Muscat International Airport fell by 72.4 per cent to 3.69mn at the end of October 2020, over the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the total number of flights at Muscat International Airport also fell by 68.1 per cent to 31,321 flights at the end of October 2020, from 98,144 flights for the same period of 2019.

The number of international flights at Muscat International Airport was 28,267 flights at the end of October 2020, falling 68.4 per cent over the same period of 2019. The total number of international passengers at Muscat International Airport fell by 72.7 per cent at the end of October 2020, reaching 3.39mn passengers. This included 1.61mn arrivals, 1.76mn departures, and 7,858 transit passengers.

Domestic flights at Muscat International Airport fell by 65.2 per cent to 3,054 flights at the end of October 2020, against 8,779 flights for the same period of 2019. The arrival and departure of domestic flights also dropped by 65.4 per cent and 65.1 per cent, respectively. The total number of domestic passengers at Muscat International Airport fell by 68 per cent to 302,369 passengers at the end of October 2020, against 944,874 passengers for the same period of the previous year. This included 151,573 arrivals and 150,796 departures, the NCSI report showed.

According to the report, the total number of passengers at the Salalah International Airport fell by 71.7 per cent to 326,450 passengers at the end of October 2020 compared to 1.15mn passengers for the same period of 2019. The total number of flights at Salalah International Airport fell by 71.5 per cent to 2,848 flights compared to 9,998 flights at the end of October 2019.

The total number of international flights at the Salalah International airport fell by 70.9 per cent to 1,198 flights at the end of October 2020, while the number of domestic fights fell by 71.9 per cent to 1,650 flights. The total number of international passengers fell by 70.6 per cent to reach 129,583 passengers, while the number of domestic passengers also fell by 72.4 per cent to 196,867 passengers.

The total number of passengers at Sohar International Airport fell by 70.7 per cent to 68,714 passengers for the period under study compared to 234,872 passengers for the same period of 2019.

The total number of flights at Sohar International Airport also fell 72.5 per cent to 534 flights at the end of October 2020 compared to 1,942 flights at the end of October 2019.

Duqm Airport saw a drop in its total number of domestic passengers by 63.3 per cent to 17,556 passengers at the end of October 2020 compared to 47,866 passengers for the same period of 2019.

The total number of flights at Duqm Airport until the end of October 2020 was 220, which is a drop of 56.7 per cent compared to the 508 flights in 2019, the report showed.