Statistics issued by Seeb International Airport showed that passengers and aircraft and cargo traffic achieved good growth during the first-quarter of 2007 as compared to corresponding period in 2006.
Passenger traffic rose by 9.2 per cent by March 31, as compared to the figure during the corresponding period in 2006.
The number of arriving passengers stood at 575,000 at the end of March, as against 494,800 passengers in 2006, constituting a 16.2 per cent surge. The number of departing passengers rose by 9.5 per cent to 534,900 for the first three months of the year, compared to 488,300 passengers during the corresponding period in 2006.
The number of transit passengers fell by 31.3 per cent to 62,400 in the first quarter of 2007, compared to 90,800 passengers during the corresponding period in 2006.
Air cargo traffic rose by 9.1 per cent. Incoming cargo traffic rose by 12.7 per cent during the first quarter, against 11,730,000kg during the corresponding period in 2006. Outgoing cargo rose by 4.3 per cent during the first-quarter of 2007, compared to the figure during the corresponding period in 2006. Civil aircraft traffic rose by 12.8 per cent to 12,583 flights by March 31, against 11,151 flights during the corresponding period in 2006.
The number of passengers at Salalah airport stood at 68,440 during the first-quarter of 2007, as compared to 70,083 passengers during the corresponding period in 2006, constituting a 2.3 per cent drop.
Aircraft traffic at Salalah airport fell by 18.2 per cent to 815 flights during the first quarter of 2007, as compared to 996 flights during the corresponding period in 2006.