Oman Airports has reported record passenger growth at Muscat and Salalah International Airports in 2016. 

Passenger traffic at Muscat International Airport exceeded 12 million passengers, up 17% year on year, and Salalah International Airport broke also broke its record with more than 1.2 million passengers, another 17% year on year gain.

In addition, flight movements at Muscat International increased by 8.5% exceeding 103,000, while Salalah International reported 10,313 flight movements.

Growth was driven by the expansion of Oman Air, which launched its first flight to China with the Guangzhou service. The carrier also introduced services to Najaf in Iraq and Mashad in Iran and added a second daily frequency to London Heathrow.

New international airlines also flew to Oman for the first time. Thai Air Asia X started its long-haul low-cost operations between Bangkok and Muscat, Regent Airways started to operate from Dhaka and Chittagong, US Bangla also started to connect Oman and Bangladesh and Pakistan International Airlines launched a direct connection from Lahore to Salalah.

Transfer traffic at Muscat International Airport increased by 30% reaching nearly 4.95 million passengers.

The biggest markets to and from Oman are GCC countries representing 36%, the Indian subcontinent (36%) and Europe (9%).