Salalah Airport
| Salalah Airport مطار صلالة |
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|---|---|---|---|
IATA: SLL – ICAO: OOSA
 SLL
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Civil | ||
| Owner | Government | ||
| Operator | OAMC | ||
| Serves | Dhofar Province/City of Salalah | ||
| Location | Salalah, Oman | ||
| Hub for | Oman Air | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 73 ft / 22 m | ||
| Coordinates | 17°02′20″N 54°05′32″E / 17.03889°N 54.09222°ECoordinates: 17°02′20″N 54°05′32″E / 17.03889°N 54.09222°E | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 07/25 | 10,958 | 3,340 | Asphalt |
| 07L/25R (under construction) | 13,123 | 4,000 | Asphalt |
Salalah Airport (IATA:SLL, ICAO:OOSA) is the Sultanate of Oman's second gateway. It is located on the Salalah coastal plain, 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) northeast of Salalah's city centre. It is currently mostly used as a domestic airport, but during the Khareef season, the airport receives numerous charter flights from neighboring Gulf countries and beyond.
The airport is located in the well-known Dhofar region in the southern part of the Sultanate. The area is a popular tourist destination for both local citizens and foreigners, especially from July to September where the Asian monsoon touches the region, making it an unusually attractive location within the normally arid Gulf region in which the city's population can double during this season.
It is also expected that tourism in this area will increase steadily over the next 20 years, adding more to the strain on the airport network. At the moment the airport is being rebuilt to cater to more passengers and to become an international airport and is planned to be operational before 2014.[1]
Contents |
History [edit]
Salalah Airport first became operational in 1977 being one of the oldest civil airports in the Sultanate, and was only handling domestic flights from Muscat as well as a few other domestic charter flights.
During 2003, there was an increase in passenger traffic due to Oman Air beginning to operate flights to Dubai. Also during this time other Gulf carriers also operated scheduled flights to Salalah during the Khareef season.[2]
During 2004, Air India became the first foreign airliner to start direct international flights to Salalah being operated all year round. Currently this service is operated by Air India Express to Kozhikode, India.[3]
In 2005, Salalah was projected as a tourist destination in the European markets and consequently direct seasonal charter flights started from Europe to Salalah, this contributed to a significant increase in the passenger traffic as well.[4]
International airport [edit]
In 2011 planning and construction began for the new state-of-the-art Salalah International Airport. The move was made by the Ministry of Transport and Communication to further boost the city's tourism sector as well as to cater to the growing amount of passengers flying to-and-from the city. Deals were signed with more than 20 different construction companies[5] to complete the International Airport in deals worth $854 million.[6]
The Salalah International Airport is built to cater to 1 million passengers annually in its initial construction phase, and will be opened at the end of 2013. Also construction of a second, 4-km runway is scheduled for the new airport.[7] The airport's current runway will also be expanded to cater to the largest of aircraft, as well as the construction of a new parallel taxiway to the north.[8] The international airport will also feature a 65,000 sqm passenger terminal building and a 57-meter high ATC Tower with car parking for up to 3,000 vehicles.[9][10]
Design of the airport takes to account future development projects and allows expansions to cater up to 6 million passengers per year when required.[11]
Airlines and destinations [edit]
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Air Arabia | Sharjah | International |
| Air India Express | Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram | International |
| flydubai | Dubai (begins 21 May 2013) [12] | International |
| Oman Air | Dubai, Jeddah | International |
| Oman Air | Muscat | Domestic |
| Qatar Airways | Doha (begins 22 May 2013)[13] | International |
Statistics [edit]
since 2003, the airport experienced increases in passenger traffic and civilian aircraft traffic.[14]
| Year | Total Passengers | Total Freight including Mail in Tons | Total Civil Aircraft Movements |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 629,305 | 1,335 | 6,175 |
| 2011 | 513,278 | 1,366 | 5,520 |
| 2010 | 455,297 | 1,283 | 5,085 |
| 2009 | 426,503 | 1,284 | 5,045 |
| 2008 | 407,788 | 1,129 | 4,248 |
| 2007 | 337,679 | 1,110 | 4,079 |
| 2006 | 288,700 | 1,441 | 4,215 |
| 2005 | 251,808 | 1,234 | 3,484 |
| 2004 | 210,163 | 1,267 | 3,015 |
| 2003 | 184,285 | 1,670 | 2,813 |
| 2002 | 187,281 | 1,917 | 2,794 |
| 2001 | 180,141 | 2,183 | 2,145 |
| 2000 | 182,823 | 1,394 | 2,385 |
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.aspx?detail=13902 - Salalah Int. Airport
- ^ http://www.omanairports.com/salalah_airhistory.asp - Salalah, increase in passenger traffic
- ^ http://www.omanairports.com/salalah_airhistory.asp - Salalah, Air India begins flights - 2004
- ^ http://www.omanairports.com/salalah_airhistory.asp - Salalah - flights from Europe
- ^ http://main.omanobserver.om/node/89106
- ^ http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-18950-muscat-airport-terminal-ready-by-end-of-2013/ - $854 million
- ^ http://www.cowi.com/menu/project/RailwaysRoadsandAirports/Airports/Pages/salalah-international-airport-oman.aspx - New runway
- ^ http://www.larsen.co.om/sia.html - Airport Expansion, Runway & Taxiway
- ^ http://www.cowi.com/menu/project/RailwaysRoadsandAirports/Airports/Pages/salalah-international-airport-oman.aspx - 65,000 sqm terminal, 57-meter ATC tower
- ^ http://main.omanobserver.om/node/89106 - Car parking -- 3,000 vehicles
- ^ http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.aspx?detail=13902 - up to 6-million passengers
- ^ flydubai begin Dubai-Salalah service begin May 2013
- ^ http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/qatar-airways-to-fly-to-salalah.html?utm_source=googleNews&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=news_feed
- ^ Welcome to OAMC
External links [edit]
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