• Oman Air
• SalamAir

Muscat International Airport {{airport codes|MCT|OOMS}}, formerly Seeb International Airport,^[1] is the main international airport in Oman and is situated 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 features flights to several regional destinations as well as some intercontinental services to Asia, Africa and Europe.

History

The airport opened as Seeb International Airport in 1973, replacing a smaller airfield located in Bayt al Falaj.^[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]

As of {{start date and age|df=yes|2008|2|1}}, the airport's name has been changed from Seeb International Airport to Muscat International Airport.^[1]

Facilities

The entire airport is spread over an area of 5,250 acres (21 km²). It originally featured one passenger terminal building, one runway as well as minor cargo and maintenance facilities and is currently undergoing a major extension and replacement consisting of a second runway, an entirely new passenger terminal and a new control tower. The new facilities underwent testing on December 2017 to positive results.^[5]

The facilities also includes a VIP terminal, and housing for airport staff as well as Oman Air employees. The Omani Royal Flight and Royal Air Force of Oman are based at the airport and the RAFO also shares its facilities with MCT.

Terminals

Terminal 1 (New Terminal)

The airport has a new and significantly larger state-of-the-art terminal located at the north of the existing terminal and first runway, opened on March 20, 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 as well as a new ATC tower, 97 m high. 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]

On 31 January 2018, it was announced that the new terminal will be inaugurated on 20 March 2018 with all current operations to be relocated to the new facility.^[8] The new terminal opened on the said date at 3:00 p.m. with the first flight, an Oman Air flight from Najaf, arriving at 6:30 p.m.

Terminal 2 (Old Terminal)

Terminal 2 is a single building, two-story passenger T-shaped terminal. It opened in the 1970s 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.^[11]

This terminal featured 58 check-in counters, 23 departure gates, 4 baggage reclaim belts and some service counters and shops.^[9] During its years of operation, passengers and crew were transported to and from the aircraft using shuttle buses as the terminal lacks jet bridges.

After the opening of the new terminal and the relocation of all airlines to it in March 2018, the old facility is planned to be redeveloped to be used by low-cost carriers.^[8] On the day the new terminal opened, 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.

Runways and apron

The airport used to have a single runway, designated as Runway 08R/26L. This runway is capable of handling the Boeing 747-400, and the Boeing 777. A new runway located to the north of the new terminal building, numbered as 08L/26R, was opened on December 14, 2014. The new runway can handle bigger airplanes such as the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380, and the Antonov An-225. The original runway between the new facilities and the old passenger terminal is closed for refurbishment and expansion^[10] as part of the construction of the entirely new main terminal building and apron area.

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 are already in use as of September 2016.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Muscat:^[11]

Cargo

Statistics

Access

The airport is located near the Sultan Qaboos Highway between Muscat and Seeb. Taxis, car hire and chauffeur services are available. Public buses stop in front of the airport area on the highway.^[28]

References

External links

• Official website