Muscat International Airport

Muscat International Airport (IATA: MCT, ICAO: OOMS), formerly Seeb International Airport,^[1] is the main international airport in Oman. It is located in Seeb, 32 kilometres (20 mi) 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.

Muscat International Airport مطار مسقط الدولي
IATA: MCT ICAO: OOMS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Oman Airports
Serves	Muscat
Location	Seeb, Oman
Opened	1973; 52 years ago (1973)
Hub for	Oman Air SalamAir
Elevation AMSL	48 ft / 15 m
Coordinates	23°35′36″N 058°17′04″E
Website	muscatairport.co.om
Maps
MCT Location of airport in Oman
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 08R/26L 13,385 4,080 Asphalt 08L/26R 13,123 4,000 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Total passengers 14,034,865 Total aircraft movements 114,258

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] In the 1980s and 1990s, the former terminal was extended with new facilities.

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

Overview

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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

Terminals

New Terminal 1

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]

Old Terminal 2

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.^{[citation needed]}

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]

Airlines	Destinations
Air Arabia	Abu Dhabi, Cairo,[14] Sharjah
Air India	Mumbai
Air India Express[15]	Chennai,[16] Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow,[17] Mangaluru, Mumbai,[18] Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli
Air Sial	Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot
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
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi
Flydubai	Dubai–International
Fly Jinnah	Islamabad, Lahore[22]
Gulf Air	Bahrain
IndiGo	Hyderabad, Kannur (begins 20 April 2025),[23] Kochi, Mumbai
Karun Airlines	Bandar Abbas
Kuwait Airways	Seasonal: Kuwait City[24]
Oman Air[25]	Abu Dhabi, Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam (begins 1 July 2025),[26] Athens (resumes 1 September 2025),[27] Bahrain, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bengaluru, Cairo, Chennai, Dammam, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai–International, Frankfurt, Goa–Mopa,[28] Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Jeddah, Karachi, Khasab, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait City, London–Heathrow, Lucknow, Manila, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[29] Mumbai, Munich, Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[30] Phuket,[31] Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino,[32] Salalah,[33] Singapore (resumes 1 September 2025),[34] Thiruvananthapuram,[35] Zanzibar Seasonal: Malé,[36][37] Trabzon,[citation needed] Zürich[38]
Pakistan International Airlines	Gwadar, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot
Pars Air	Ahvaz, Isfahan, Shiraz
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways	Doha
Qeshm Air	Mashhad, Qeshm, Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Red Wings Airlines	Seasonal charter: Sochi (begins 21 June 2025)[39]
SalamAir[25]	Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Bahrain, Baghdad, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bengaluru,[40] Bishkek,[41] Chennai,[42] Chittagong, Colombo–Bandaranaike, Dammam, Delhi,[43] Dhaka, Doha, Dubai–International, Duqm,[44] Fujairah,[45] Giza,[46] Hyderabad,[47] Islamabad,[48] Istanbul,[49] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jaipur,[47] Jeddah, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kozhikode,[47] Kuwait City, Lahore,[48] Lucknow,[47] Mashhad, Masirah,[50] Medina, Mogadishu,[51] Multan, Mumbai,[52] Munich,[53] Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta,[51] Osh,[41] Peshawar,[54] Phuket, Quetta,[54] Riyadh, Salalah, Shiraz, Sialkot, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Thiruvananthapuram,[47] Yerevan[55][56] Seasonal: Almaty,[57] Baku,[citation needed] Beirut,[58] Bursa,[citation needed] Prague,[59] Rize–Artvin,[57] Sarajevo,[citation needed] Ta'if,[citation needed] Tbilisi,[citation needed] Tirana,[60] Trabzon Charter: Mukhaizna[61]
Saudia	Jeddah
Sepehran Airlines	Mashhad, Tehran–Imam Khomeini
SunExpress	Trabzon[62]
Taban Air	Mashhad, Shiraz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini[63]
Tarco Aviation	Port Sudan[64]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul
US-Bangla Airlines	Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet[65]
Varesh Airlines	Isfahan, Tehran–Imam Khomeini

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

Airlines	Destinations
Cargolux[66]	Luxembourg
Oman Air Cargo[67]	Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai
Qatar Airways Cargo[68]	Doha
SalamAir Cargo[69]	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 and freight total^[70]

Year	Passengers	Freight in MT	Aircraft movements
2020	4,085,499	109,806	35,188
2019	16,038,844	240,285	117,601
2018	15,392,095	212,764	118,698
2017	14,061,732	200,852	114,360
2016	12,031,496	180,332	103,326
2015	10,315,358	154,868	103,915
2014	8,709,505	121,368	92,347
2013	8,310,927	120,667	90,223
2012	7,546,716	112,306	81,486
2011	6,479,860	98,085	78,650
2010	5,752,017	96,696	79,710
2009	4,558,002	63,764	66,872
2008	4,001,393	57,887	58,346
2007	4,219,000	76,448	49,806
2006	4,778,000	97,908	49,901
2005	4,071,000	76,563	52,781
2004	3,461,000	67,151	43,622
2003	2,886,000	48,630	42,330
2002	2,447,000	46,934	39,555
2001	2,700,992 [71]	71,830 [71]	35,064[71]
2000	2,721,393[71]	69,696[71]	36,082[71]

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.^[72]

See also

• List of the busiest airports in the Middle East