Oman occupies a position next to the Indian Ocean, rather than the Persian/Arabian Gulf and the capital; Muscat’s airport is the most easterly of the main air gateways into and out of the Middle East.
Oman Airports, which operates the facilities there, has just published positive financial results for 2024, but they have to be offset against a poor start to the year 2025 at some of those airports – and especially Muscat, which saw an 8% reduction in passenger numbers in 1Q2025, which was more so than some of its much larger regional peers. They are themselves experiencing hard times, while most of the rest of the world forges ahead.
Oman is developing its alternative, differentiated tourism offer, which eschews the bling of Dubai et al in favour of history, culture and nature. The Tourism Minister wants to build new business from Russia, China and Southeast Asia, which are not well connected to it.
Although foreign airlines might help with that ambition, Oman Air will be required to up its own game and provide appropriate connections, especially when it receives new Boeing 787s. Oman Airports and Oman Air are effectively the same company. It may also be asked to reinstate a hub network that was minimised in favour of focused point-to-point markets. For seven years this year it has had a new, modern airport that can handle that demand.
A decade ago it looked as if Oman Airports could be both privatised and become an active investor in overseas airports. Neither of those outcomes actually transpired, but there is some low-level dabbling with foreign airports now, and the demands being forced on it by this new thinking could yet influence the government into seeking one or more private partners for it.