Oman air passenger traffic down in 1H 2021

Passenger traffic at Oman's four airports fell by 55pc in the first half of 2021 as the government continued to impose international air travel restrictions on and off throughout the period to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus and its new variants.

The total number of international and domestic passengers travelling through Muscat, Salalah, Sohar and Duqm airports fell to 1.65mn in the first half of the year compared with 3.65mn in the same period last year, according to the latest data from Oman's National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The fall is due to subdued international air travel demand, as international flights typically represent more than half of total flights operating to and from Oman's airports. Travel demand has started off worse this year than last year ended, even as the global roll-out of vaccines gathers pace.

New Covid-19 variants have led the Omani authorities to remain vigilant, opting to maintain some level of restrictions on flights and lockdown measures since early March, which disproportionately hit international flights. As of now, at least 21 countries are banned from entering the country.

International air passenger traffic was down by 64pc in the first half of this year versus the first half of 2020, according to the NCSI data, although domestic air passenger demand was up 13pc. When considering international air traffic movements, the first half of this year saw 11,411 movements, down 55pc versus the first half of 2021, while again domestic air traffic movements posted a year-on-year increase of 17pc to 314.

But total air passenger and air traffic movement improved in June, rising by 33pc and 6pc, respectively, compared to May. This translated into a 22.6pc rise in Oman's jet fuel demand in June compared with May, according to NCSI. Muted international travel, has put a cap on domestic jet fuel consumption in 1H 2021, which stood at 3,500 b/d, down from 6,500 b/d and 13,300 b/d in the corresponding periods in 2020 and 2019.

Oman's jet fuel demand is expected to remain weak so long that international travel restrictions remain in place. The uncertainty around how long these restrictions will last also have an impact on future travel demand.

By Sarah Raffoul