The aviation industry in Oman has seen a big fall in number of passengers and flights in the first nine months of 2020. Arrivals decreased by 71.9 per cent, departures by 70 per cent and number of flights by 67 per cent.
The National Centre of Statistics and Information (NCSI) said airports across Oman operated 32,693 flights till September this year, 67.15 per cent less than99,533 in 2019.
The total number of passengers travelling through Muscat, Salalah, Sohar and Duqm airports (arrival, departure and transit) at the end of September was 3,908,289, which is 73.8 per cent less than the figure for the same period in 2019.
Muscat International Airport saw its total passenger count fall by 70.9 per cent, from 12,114,973 in the first nine months of 2019 to 3,522,292 in 2020 over the same period. According to NCSI data, 102,883 passengers arrived at Muscat International Airport in September, marking an increase of 43.9 per cent compared to August.
Indians comprised the highest number of passengers in September – 20,784 departures and 14,576 arrivals – followed by Pakistanis (6,985 departures, 9111 arrivals) and Bangladeshis (4,921 departures, 787 arrivals).
Until September 2020, 302,230 passengers flew through Salalah Airport, down by 71.5 per cent compared to 1,060,207 in 2019. In September, Salalah Airport witnessed the number of passengers grow to 6,690 from 2,837 in August, an increase of 135 per cent.
Sohar Airport registered 534 flights and 68,714 passengers in the nine months from January to September 2020, while Duqm Airport had 170 flights and 15,053 passengers in same period.
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