Kaushalendra Singh –
SALALAH –

June 1: The long-awaited news of the launch of the new Salalah Airport came as a pleasant surprise with the announcement of the process of the shifting of air traffic from the old airport to the new one. This actual operation and shifting process will start from June 15.
This was revealed during the field visit of Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications. Dr Futaisi held a series of meetings with the officials of the project client, contractors and consultants before the announcement.
During the field visit, the minister was accompanied by Dr Mohammed bin Nasser al Za’abi, CEO of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA), senior officials and members of the technical committee of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The airport’s new terminal building will have a capacity to accommodate two million passengers which would be upgraded up to 6 million in four stages. It will have a gross floor area of 65,638 square metres and new runway specifications of 4,000m long x 75m wide, which can receive big aircrafts including A 380.

The new airport would give an entirely new dimension to Salalah in terms of business and tourist movement. The existing Salalah airport has witnessed surge in passenger traffic during recent years. There has been increase in frequency of charter flights carrying a large number of tourists from Scandinavian countries, Germany and Italy. They are besides khareef tourists, who come in large numbers from neighbouring GCC and European countries. The new airport will have additional baggage claim conveyor belt to provide a separation between the domestic and international passengers.
The baggage handling system consists of state of the art check-in facilities at the departure hall of the passenger terminal building. The airport is also equipped with the latest technology for security screening.
With more immigration counters and queuing space, the airport would also be equipped with additional rest rooms for the comfort of passengers.
The upgradation of the Salalah Airport is in line with the government’s commitment to establish infrastructural facilities that can keep pace with the international market. In coming days new modifications would be introduced in the arrival area and conveyer belts to smoothen the baggage handling system.