Selfie time for passengers at the new terminal

“We’ve been waiting for this day for over a year,” exclaimed a senior flight officer from Oman Air, the country’s national carrier, who was enjoying the freshest of food at the airport’s new health food restaurant in its departures terminal.

A couple of shops over, German tourists were busy snapping up souvenirs from the handicrafts store, which featured a plethora of goods that were innately Omani, from succulent dates grown on the nation’s farms to fragrant nuggets of Dhofari frankincense, worth its weight in gold.

“The Omani people we have met are just so friendly,” said Dorothy, one of the two Germans. “We had a bit of trouble navigating our way here, but all the people at the airport are so kind. I want to thank the lady at the counter, as well. She was so sweet and patient with us.”

As they waited for their counter to open, Stefan Ruyter, who hails from Belgium, was explaining to his son, Nigel, the details of the intricate roof atop the airport.

“I am an architect, myself, so I know it would not have been easy to build this,” he told Times of Oman.

“This seems to be a very ambitious project and I want to congratulate the Omani government.”

Selfies were very much the order of the day. “Look around - everybody is excited, not because this is a new building, but because of what it means,” said Jordanian Amjad Jaser, who was flying to Riyadh, having just posed for a selfie with his friend. “You can see that this airport means a lot to people here, and they are so proud because of it.”

United by the vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman’s new airport has injected Oman’s citizens and residents with renewed vigour, and if day one is anything to go by, the Sultanate’s aviation sector is set to soar to new heights.