MUSCAT: The national airline, Oman Air, has started implementing the fixed-fare ticket policy, aimed at encouraging domestic tourism in Dhofar, especially during the Khareff season, and facilitating the easy movement of citizens between the two governorates.
According to the National Center for Statistics and Information, around 70 percent of the Salalah visitors traveled by road, mainly to cut travel costs.
The so-called exorbitant airfares on the Salalah-Muscat sector have always been a point of contention among passengers, especially those traveling with families during the peak Khareef months. These airfares force visitors to Salalah to take to the road and the long drive on the 1,000-km stretch has often turned out to be fatal for some motorists and their families. Overspeeding, fatigue, and low visibility during rains are often cited as the main reasons for these unfortunate incidents.
The national airline has now fixed the economy class fares for citizens between Muscat and Salalah at RO 64 (return) and RO 35 (one-way), applicable throughout the year.
During the khareef season, the return economy class ticket will be priced at RO 54.
Speaking on the subject, Saeed Al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oman Air, said, "Instead of the surge pricing model, these fares will be applicable regardless of whether the travel is made in advance or on short notice."
Sources in the travel industry indicated that these fares will also benefit all passengers, including expatriates and foreign tourists, as all airlines operating to Salalah will be forced to cut down prices to stay competitive this year. "I am confident that the base one-way fare for all passengers will come down this year," a travel operator said as he welcomed the new fixed-fare policy.
The Salalah Airport handled around 232,000 passengers (arrivals, departures, and flight transfers) from 1,572 flight operations at the end of February this year.
It may be noted that Royal Directives were issued by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in 2023 to provide direct subsidies on fuel prices at Salalah Airport, equivalent to the fuel prices at Muscat International Airport.
The number of visitors to Dhofar in the Khareef season of 2023 increased 18.4 per cent to 962,000 compared to 813,000 visitors during the 2022 season. NCSI indicated an increase in spending by visitors in 2023, of RO 103 million compared to RO 86 million in 2022, while the number of nights of stay of visitors also increased to seven million nights compared to six million nights in the Khareef season in 2022.
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