Salalah International Airport
Salalah International Airport مطار صلالة | |||||||||||||||
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Salalah airport Terminal | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Civil / Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Government | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | OAMC | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Dhofar Province/City of Salalah | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Salalah, Oman | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | Oman Air | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 73 ft / 22 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°02′20″N 54°05′32″E / 17.03889°N 54.09222°E | ||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Salalah Airport (IATA:SLL, ICAO:OOSA) is the Sultanate of Oman's second gateway. It is located on the Salalah coastal plain, 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) northeast of Salalah's city centre. It was earlier primarily used as a military airfield by the Royal Air Force (RAF Salalah) and latterly, co-located with the civilian airport, by the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO Salalah). In 2003, the Salalah airport got the status of an international airport. Salalah airport is located in the Dhofar Governorate in the southern part of the Sultanate. The area is a popular tourist destination for both local citizens and foreigners, especially from July to September when the Asian monsoon touches the region commencing the start of the Khareef season, making it an unusually attractive location within the normally arid Gulf region.
It is also expected that tourism in this area will increase steadily over the next 20 years, adding more to the strain on the airport network. The new Salalah international airport was opened on June 15th for operations after some delays. The new airport will be however officially opened on Novemberi this year.
History
Salalah Airport opened in 1977. Initially, it only handled domestic flights from Muscat and a few chartered flights. Oman Air Services (OAS) began services to Salalah in 1982 and the inaugural flight of Oman Air arrived from Muscat in April 1993.[1] Oman Air began scheduled services to Dubai from Salalah in 2003, leading to increased passenger traffic while other Gulf carriers operated flights only during the Khareef season. The following year, Air India commenced operations to Kozhikode and then to Cochin, making it the first airline to operate non-seasonal international flights to Salalah. [2]
International airport
In 2011 planning and construction began for the new state-of-the-art Salalah International Airport. The move was made by the Ministry of Transport and Communication to further boost the city's tourism sector as well as to cater to the growing amount of passengers flying to-and-from the city. Deals were signed with more than 20 different construction companies[3] to complete the International Airport in deals worth $854 million.[4]COWI A/S-Larsen Joint Venture had been the main consultant on the project, which was later taken over by HILL INTERNATIONAL LLC.[5]
The Salalah International Airport is planned to cater to 1 million passengers in the first phase. Also the construction of a second, 4-km runway is scheduled for the new airport.[6] The airport's current runway will also be expanded to cater to the largest of aircraft, as well as the construction of a new parallel taxiway to the north.[7] The international airport will also feature a 65,000 sqm passenger terminal building and a 57-meter high ATC Tower with car parking for up to 3,000 vehicles.[6][8]
Design of the airport takes to account future development projects and allows expansions to cater up to 6 million passengers per year when required.[9]
The new Salalah international airport commenced operations on June 15th. With Oman air from Muscat becoming the first airline to arrive in the airport. However the new airport will be officially opened on November.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Air Arabia | Sharjah | International |
| Air India Express | Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram | International |
| flydubai | Dubai-International | International |
| Oman Air | Dubai-International, Jeddah[10] | International |
| Oman Air | Muscat | Domestic |
| Qatar Airways | Doha | International |
| Rotana Jet | Abu Dhabi[11] | International |
| SunExpress | Charter: Izmir[7] | International |
| Alitalia | Charter: Milan Malpensa | International |
Statistics
Since 2003, the airport experienced increases in passenger traffic and civilian aircraft traffic.[12]
| Year | Total passengers | Total Freight including Mail in Tons | Total Civil Aircraft movements |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 841,970[13] | N/A | 8,571[14] |
| 2013 | 746,994 | 1,417 | 7,944 |
| 2012 | 629,305 | 1,335 | 6,175 |
| 2011 | 513,278 | 1,366 | 5,520 |
| 2010 | 455,297 | 1,283 | 5,085 |
| 2009 | 426,503 | 1,284 | 5,045 |
| 2008 | 407,788 | 1,129 | 4,248 |
| 2007 | 337,679 | 1,110 | 4,079 |
| 2006 | 288,700 | 1,441 | 4,215 |
References
- ^ "History". Oman Air. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "Your Gateway to Oman". Omanairports.com. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Muscat Airport terminal ready by end of 2013". ConstructionWeekOnline.com. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ http://www.cowi.com/menu/project/RailwaysRoadsandAirports/Airports/Pages/salalah-international-airport-oman.aspx
- ^ a b "Salalah International Airport, Oman". COWI. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ [2] [dead link]
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ [4] [dead link]
- ^ Shroff, Ruchi (20 May 2013). "Oman Air delays Salalah-Jeddah launch". AviationBusinessMe.com. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "Rotana Jet moves base to Abu Dhabi International". thenational.ae. 27 October 2014.
- ^ "Oman Airports". Oman Airports. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]