AIRPORT PASSENGER NUMBERS APPROACH PRE-COVID LEVELS

Removal of COVID-19 related travel curbs globally and pent up demand behind surge

MUSCAT: Passenger numbers at airports in Oman are steadily approaching the levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic began, reveal statistics published by the government.

By the end of February 2022, about 1.1 million passengers had arrived at and departed from four airports in Oman: Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, and Duqm, compared to the nearly 1.6 million passengers using Oman’s airports at the end of January 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Oman.

While passenger numbers in Muscat are still down – 1.43 million passengers travelled through Muscat International Airport in the first month of 2020, and nearly a million used the airport in January and February 2022 – figures published by the National Centre for Statistics and Information show that there has actually been a passenger increase at both Duqm and Salalah airports.

9,747 passengers arrived at and departed from Duqm airport in the first two months of 2022, compared to 4,985 in January 2020. While 52 flights landed in the first month of 2020, that number more than doubled to 122 by the end of February 2022.

At Salalah in the southern Dhofar governorate, passenger numbers climbed to 147,489 by February 2022, compared to 118,771 in January 2020. 1,067 flights have also landed at Salalah International Airport, compared to 918 flights in January 2020.

At Sohar, however, numbers are still lower than they were prepandemic: 23,475 passengers arrived and departed on 274 flights until February 2022, compared to 32,575 passengers on 242 flights in January 2020.

Explaining the reason for the recovery in passenger numbers, Venkat Perumal, sales manager for the Oman office of Go First airlines, said, “The main reason for the steady increase in traveller and flight numbers is because more and more countries have removed their COVID-19 related restrictions.

“Now, you don’t need to take a PCR test for most countries, which makes travel very easy… all you need to show is proof of vaccination,” he said.

“After about two years of being unable to travel, people are also very eager to fly once again,” he further added.