The FINANCIAL — According to Gulfnews, the Middle East Region continued to show double digit growth in air passenger traffic, according to a senior official of Oman Air.
"The Middle East growth was the highest among all regions, resulting from strong regional economies, and the impact of oil wealth, expanded capacity, and new routes," stated Usama Al Al Haremi, Manager Oman Air Corporate Communications.
The global airline industry made a profit of $5.6 billion in 2007 and strong traffic growth of 7.4 per cent was a key component for the growth. International passenger traffic (RPKs) increased 7.4 per cent in 2007, up 1.5 points over 5.9 per cent growth recorded in 2006, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA). Average load factor was 77 per cent last year, up one point from 2006 and an all-time record.
Al Haremi affirmed that the Omani aviation sector has undergone significant changes – at both the airport and airline level – in the recent period, with much more to come.
"Tourism is witnessing big investment in infrastructure too. The two international airports in Oman will have state-of-the-art facilities and be able to take the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus 380. The development of Oman's largest airport, Muscat International Airport, will result in one of the world's most ultra modern airports," he stated.
He said that the new terminal building will have a net floor area of 240,000 square metre and capacity for 12 million passengers a year. Since traffic forecasts shows that the 12 million-passenger mark will be reached relatively few years after its opening in 2010, the project has been prepared to allow the airport to expand to double its size up to 48 million passengers.
The airport in Oman's second-largest town, Salalah is being developed into an international airport with the initial stage of expansion is scheduled for completion in November 2011, and the new terminal will be able to accommodate 2 million passengers per year.
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