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Muscat International Airport

Muscat International Airport

مطار مسقط الدولي
Aerial view of Muscat International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorOman Airports
ServesMuscat
LocationSeeb, Oman
Opened1973; 51 years ago (1973)
Hub for
Elevation AMSL48 ft / 15 m
Coordinates23°35′36″N 058°17′04″E / 23.59333°N 58.28444°E / 23.59333; 58.28444
Websitemuscatairport.co.om
Maps
MCT is located in Oman
MCT
MCT
Location of airport in Oman
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
08R/26L 13,385 4,080 Asphalt
08L/26R 13,123 4,000 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Total passengers14,034,865 Increase
Total aircraft movements114,258 Increase

Muscat International Airport (IATA: MCT, ICAO: OOMS), formerly Seeb International Airport,[1] is the main international airport in Oman and is located in Seeb, 32 km from the old city and capital Muscat within the Muscat metropolitan area. The airport serves as the hub for flag carrier Oman Air and Oman's first budget airline, Salam Air, and features flights to several regional destinations as well as some intercontinental services to Asia, Africa and Europe.

History

Muscat's original airport, Bayt al Falaj, began operations in 1929. It served as the capital's first airport and was known for sharp turns and steep descents. Airlines such as Gulf Aviation (later Gulf Air) and Oman International Services were its first users.

With the need for larger space to expand operations, the current airport was built on its present site, and opened as Seeb International Airport on January 1, 1973.[2]

It has hosted Royal Air Force BAe Nimrods in the past, including for the 1991 Gulf War. These aircraft cooperated with the Royal Navy of Oman in the 'Magic Roundabout' exercise series.[3] The base was used by a detachment of Vickers VC10 tankers from No. 101 Squadron RAF during the Gulf War training with Royal Air Force SEPECAT Jaguars.[4]

On 1 February 2008, the airport was given its present name.[1]

Facilities

The airport is spread over an area of 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres). It originally featured one passenger terminal building and one runway, as well as minor cargo and maintenance facilities. Part of the airport complex extension featured housing for airport employees and Oman Air employees.

During the expansion, a new terminal and control tower was built along with a new runway. The current terminal is the biggest airport in Oman. Construction was started in 2007, and the airport opened in 2018. The new facilities also include a VIP terminal for private jets and an onsite airport hotel.

The airport is also a joint-use military and public facility, acting as the base of operations for both the Royal Flight of Oman and Royal Air Force of Oman. A Royal Terminal and Royal Flight hangars are located adjacent to the old terminal.

In 2019, the Aaronia AARTOS C-UAS drone detection system was installed,[5] which makes this the first international airport in the world to have an operational drone detection system.

Terminals

Terminal 1 (new terminal)

Terminal 1 (new terminal)

The airport's newer and significantly larger terminal located north of the existing terminal and first runway opened in 2018. This new building initially brought the airport's capacity up to 20 million passengers a year upon completion of the first phase.[6] Subsequent enlargements under second and third phases will increase the airport capacity to 24 and 48 million annual passengers respectively.[6] The terminal covers 580,000 sqm and features 118 check-in counters, 10 baggage reclaim belts, 82 immigration counters, 45 gates and a new, 97-meter control tower. The new terminal is located between the old and new runways and is capable of handling large aircraft such as Airbus A380s and Boeing 747s.[7] The terminal opened on 18 March 2018, with the first flight, an Oman Air flight from Najaf, arriving at 6:30 p.m.[8]

Terminal 2 (old terminal)

Terminal 2 is a single-building, two-story, T-shaped passenger terminal. Built in 1970, it opened in 1973 as a replacement of the Bait al-Falaj airport and has been expanded several times during the last years to cater for growing passenger numbers.[9] This terminal featured 58 check-in counters, 23 departure gates, four baggage reclaim belts and several service counters and shops.[9] A new pier was constructed in 2007, with additional shops, restaurants, and outlets, opening in 2009. During its years of operation, passengers and crew were transported to and from the aircraft using shuttle buses as the terminal offered no jet bridges.

The last international flight to depart from the old terminal was an Oman Air flight to Zurich, Switzerland, while another Oman Air flight bound for Salalah became the last domestic flight.[8] The old facility was planned to be redeveloped into a low-cost carrier terminal,[10] but was instead turned into a field hospital and COVID-19 vaccination site ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.

Runways and apron

The airport features two runways: the original Runway 08R/26L and the second Runway 08L/26R, situated north of the new terminal building and inaugurated on 14 December 2014. Both runways are equipped to accommodate large aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380, and the Antonov An-225. The original runway, situated between the new and the former passenger terminal, underwent closure in 2015 for refurbishment and expansion,[11] aligning with the construction of a completely new main terminal building and apron area. The refurbishment of the original runway was finalized in October 2023, and it officially resumed operations in November 2023.[12]

The old terminal's apron features 32 stands[9] on both sides of the T-shaped passenger terminal building with 30 new ones constructed in two phases[7] in front of the new terminal building, of which several were already in use as of September 2016.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Muscat:[13]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Cairo,[14] Sharjah
Airblue Lahore
Air India Mumbai
Air India Express[15] Chennai (begins 4 February 2025),[16] Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow,[17] Mangalore, Mumbai,[18] Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli
Air SialLahore
Badr Airlines Port Sudan[19]
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet1
Cham Wings Airlines Damascus
Edelweiss Air Zürich[20][21]
Egyptair Cairo
Emirates Dubai–International
Enter AirKatowice, Warsaw–Chopin
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi
Flydubai Dubai–International
Fly Jinnah Islamabad
Gulf Air Bahrain
IndiGo Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai
Iraqi AirwaysBaghdad
Jazeera Airways Kuwait City[citation needed]
Karun Airlines Bandar Abbas
Kish Air Shiraz
Kuwait Airways Seasonal: Kuwait City[22]
Oman Air[23] Abu Dhabi, Amman–Queen Alia, Athens (resumes 1 September 2025),[24] Bahrain, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bengaluru, Cairo, Chennai, Dammam, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai–International, Duqm, Frankfurt, Goa–Mopa,[25] Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Jeddah, Karachi, Khasab, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait City, London–Heathrow, Lucknow, Manila, Mashhad, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[26] Mumbai, Munich, Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[27] Phuket,[28] Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino,[29] Salalah,[30] Shiraz, Singapore (resumes 1 September 2025),[31] Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Thiruvananthapuram,[32] Trabzon, Zanzibar
Seasonal: Malé,[33][34] Zürich[35]
Pakistan International Airlines Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot
Pars Air Isfahan, Shiraz
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways Doha
Qeshm Air Mashhad, Qeshm, Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
SalamAir[23] Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Bahrain, Baghdad, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bengaluru,[36] Bishkek,[37] Chennai,[38] Chittagong, Colombo–Bandaranaike, Dammam, Delhi,[39] Dhaka, Doha, Dubai–International, Duqm,[40] Faisalabad,[41] Fujairah,[42] Giza,[43] Hyderabad,[44] Islamabad,[45] Istanbul,[46] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jaipur,[44] Jeddah, Karachi, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kozhikode,[44] Kuwait City, Lahore,[45] Lucknow,[44] Mashhad, Masirah,[47] Medina, Mogadishu (begins 17 January 2025),[48] Multan, Mumbai,[49] Munich,[50] Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta (begins 15 January 2025),[48] Osh,[37] Peshawar,[41] Phuket, Quetta,[41] Riyadh, Salalah, Shiraz, Sialkot, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Thiruvananthapuram,[44] Yerevan (begins 28 December 2024)[51][52]
Seasonal: Almaty,[53] Baku, Beirut,[54][55] Bursa, Prague,[56] Rize–Artvin,[53] Sarajevo, Ta'if, Tbilisi, Tirana,[57] Trabzon
Charter: Mukhaizna[58]
Saudia Jeddah
Sepehran Airlines Mashhad, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
SunExpress Trabzon[59]
Taban Air Mashhad, Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini[60]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
US-Bangla Airlines Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet[61]
Varesh Airlines Isfahan, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi[62]
Notes
  • ^1 Biman Bangladesh Airlines' flights from Muscat to Dhaka make a stop at Sylhet. However, the flight from Dhaka to Muscat is non-stop.

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux[63] Luxembourg
Oman Air Cargo[64] Hyderabad
One Air[65] Hong Kong, London–Heathrow
Qatar Airways Cargo[66] Doha
SalamAir Cargo[67] Dhaka, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Khartoum, Mumbai

Statistics

Aerial view of the entire airport showing the new terminal in the center with the old facilities on top
Terminal 2, the former main building
Oman Air Airbus A330-300s parked on the apron of the old terminal. Until the opening of the new terminal, there were no jetbridges available.
Annual passenger traffic at MCT airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger and freight total[68]
Year Passengers Freight in MT Aircraft movements
2020 4,085,499 Decrease 109,806 Decrease 35,188
2019 16,038,844 Increase 240,285 Increase 117,601
2018 15,392,095 Increase 212,764 Increase 118,698
2017 14,061,732 Increase 200,852 Increase 114,360
2016 12,031,496 Increase 180,332 Increase 103,326
2015 10,315,358 Increase 154,868 Increase 103,915
2014 8,709,505 Increase 121,368 Increase 92,347
2013 8,310,927 Increase 120,667 Increase 90,223
2012 7,546,716 Increase 112,306 Increase 81,486
2011 6,479,860 Increase 98,085 Increase 78,650
2010 5,752,017 Increase 96,696 Increase 79,710
2009 4,558,002 Increase 63,764 Increase 66,872
2008 4,001,393 Decrease 57,887 Decrease 58,346
2007 4,219,000 Decrease 76,448 Decrease 49,806
2006 4,778,000 Increase 97,908 Increase 49,901
2005 4,071,000 Increase 76,563 Increase 52,781
2004 3,461,000Increase 67,151 Increase 43,622
2003 2,886,000 Increase 48,630 Increase 42,330
2002 2,447,000 Decrease 46,934 Decrease 39,555
2001 2,700,992 Decrease[69] 71,830 Increase[69] 35,064[69]
2000 2,721,393[69] 69,696[69] 36,082[69]

Ground transport

Oman National Transport Company (Mwasalat) operates 24-hour service special airport buses at fixed intervals. The Route A1 operates between Mabela and Ruwi bus station with a stop at Muscat Airport. Bus Route 8 (Al Mouj-Al Khuwair) also has a stop at Muscat Airport. Metered-airport taxis are available with special counters at the baggage and arrival halls. Car hire and chauffeur services are also available. [70]

See also

References

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  3. ^ Gp Capt Brian Burridge, Royal Air Force Nimrods in the Gulf Archived 3 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "19 Years Over Iraq". The Official RAF Annual Review 2010. Stamford: Key Publishing: 9. December 2010.
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