Muscat: The major stakeholders in Oman's aviation sector have embarked on promoting direct flights to and from Muscat, instead of promoting it just as another transit hub.
The indicators in this direction include the national airline, Oman Air, launching its service to Copenhagen, operating via Baghdad from December 20.
The airline used the fifth freedom for its first direct engagement with both countries, strengthening links between the Middle East and Europe.
SalamAir, opened ticket sales for its non-stop service between Muscat and Vienna, establishing the first direct scheduled air connection between the Sultanate of Oman and Austria. Scheduled to commence on June 24, 2026, the service will offer travelers a direct flight between Oman and Central Europe.
The service will operate three times a week using the A321 fleet.
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) has been targeting China as a source market for inbound tourism in the Sultanate, especially with the visa exemption policies.
The twice-weekly services by China Eastern will be expanded in terms of frequency, depending on the load factors in the future.
Oman Air announced the launch of direct flights between Muscat and Singapore, commencing 2 July 2026, its latest link to Southeast Asia, increasing accessibility between the two regions, offering
four flights days a week - Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
With Oman Air recently joining the oneworld alliance, the new route also taps into traffic flows via member airlines from Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Mike Rutter, Chief Commercial Officer, said, "Our plan over time is to exploit the membership of OneWorld to create a much wider depth of destinations, and with the support of our OneWorld partners, it'll be financially sustainable.'
Oman Air has signed a deal with Fun & Sun for expanding direct access between Moscow and Salalah.
Oman Air said its ongoing focus on point-to-point growth has resulted in an increase of more than 50% in the number of passengers flying to and staying in Oman since the start of the airline’s transformation efforts. This shift is projected to generate up to RO90 million in additional in-country economic activity annually over the next five years.
This shift is projected to generate up to RO90 million i
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approved the operation of regular scheduled flights by Oman Air to Baghdad, Copenhagen, Taif in Saudi Arabia, and Salalah - Sheremetyevo International Airport.
SalamAi recently launched a direct service to Abha in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Oman Airports told the Observer that it is aggressively working on strategies to attract more foreign airlines to start operations in the Sultanate.
Speaking to the Observer, Eng Ahmed al Amri, said, "We have such an aggressive plan to attract new airlines to the Sultanate of Oman, who will only come if there is a demand. We are trying to stimulate the markets from both ends to have a demand in place. We are talking to operators in different countries trying to secure charter flights to start with, and also normal scheduled services, if the demand is, is being established."
On the focus markets, he said, "We have a focus on the Chinese market, and we are also exploring Eastern Europe and Russia.
He added, The launch of China Eastern services was a first step in that direction.
"It's only the beginning, and we are trying to do our level best to increase the number of flights going to China, not necessarily from Beijing itself, but also from other major cities."
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has signed several bilateral air transport agreements in 2025, bringing its total to 130, including 84 "open-sky" agreements, as reported in November 2025.
Recent additions in 2025 include pacts with the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Zambia, Cabo Verde, Syria, and Côte d'Ivoire, strengthening connectivity and supporting Oman Vision 2040 goals for logistics and trade.
Passenger traffic through the airports of the Sultanate of Oman (Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, and Duqm) witnessed an increase of 1.6 percent until the end of October 2025, bringing the total number of passengers to 12,353,007, compared to 12,153,212 passengers during the same period in 2024.
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