MUSCAT -- The new extension of the passenger departures building at Muscat International Airport was inaugurated yesterday under the auspices of Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal al Busaidy, Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, in the presence of a number of ministers and dignitaries. The extension of the new terminal was carried out by Oman Airports Management Company and according to the CEO, George Bellew, the RO 15 million new terminal extension comprises of two floors, the ground floor consists of 8 new bus boarding gates each with an approximate capacity of 160 seats, the gates are designed for the possibility of combining 2 gates in one for handling large flights, bathrooms for male and female passengers are available at the ground floor and a new baggage handling and screening system to handle transfer baggage is also housed at the ground floor.
The new extension is connected to the existing terminal building via a passenger bridge from the first floor, the new departure gates are numbered 16-23 will add 8 new additional boarding gates to the current existing 13 boarding gates, in total Muscat International Airport will have 21 passenger boarding gates. The first floor will provide a wider choice of retail, food and beverage outlets, prayer rooms for male and female passengers, bathrooms, play area for kids and a room designated for smoking passengers with a special ventilation system. The ground floor is connected with the first floor with an electrical escalator and two elevators.
The retail, food and beverage outlet consists of, The Cream and Fudge Factory (ice cream store), Costa Coffee (café), Muscat Pharmacy, Sweets Factory (Sweets), DQ Grill and Chill (Restaurant), Dunkin Donuts (Sweets) and Subway (Sandwiches). At a later stage Muscat Duty Free will open additional stores. The exterior of the building has a large glassed area which means the waiting area for departing passengers offers an excellent vista of the apron and runway this will contribute towards a significant improvement in the passenger departing experience.
Muscat International Airport is currently congested with passengers during the peak hours, the new extension will provide an additional 17,000 sqm of built up area on the ground and first floor level, in total the extension will be able to accommodate 3,000 passengers at one time. Traffic through Muscat International Airport is expected to increase, the growth in passenger numbers is being driven by a number of factors including fleet and route expansion by the national carrier Oman Air, the increase in capacity and frequency by existing carriers, the growth and development of the tourism and economical activity in Oman.
The following airlines have increased their flights to Muscat International Airport effective from March 29, 2009: Oman Air, Air India Express, Gulf Air, KLM, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways. The number of passengers entering and leaving Muscat through Muscat International Airport excluding transfer passengers has increased by 6 per cent during the first quarter 2009 compared to 2008. The number of arriving passengers excluding transfers has increased by 4 per cent to 415,091 passengers during the first quarter of 2009 from 398,807 passengers for the same period last year.
The number of departing passengers excluding transfers has increased by 9 per cent to 383,116 passengers during the first quarter of 2009 from 351,409 passengers for the same period last year. The total number of passengers at Muscat International Airport has increased by 4 per cent to 988,941 passengers during the first quarter of 2009 from 951,387 passengers for the same period last year. The number of civil aircraft movements at Muscat International Airport has increased by 7 per cent to 11,935 aircraft movements for the first quarter of 2009 from 11,114 movements for the same period last year.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2009
