Muscat: Muscat international airport saw a drop in international passengers in April this year compared to the previous months of March and February.
The passenger traffic dropped from 939,921 in February this year to 728,588 in March and 727, 668 this year.
Overall, the number of passengers dropped in the four months or 2026 by 7.6 percent from 3,879,774 in 2025 to 3,585,485 this year.
According to the The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) for April 2026, International demand fell -5.3% compared to April 2025. Excluding Middle East, demand grew by 1.9%. Capacity was down -5.1% year-on-year, and the load factor was 83.9% (-0.2 ppt compared to April 2025).
“The 46.6% fall in demand for carriers in the Middle East due to war in the region was so acute that it dragged overall demand down -3.4%. The situation for air transport remains highly volatile. The cost of jet fuel more than doubled in April, which is pushing airfares up. Forward schedule data is showing a reduced offering in the coming months, indicating that airlines are balancing high fuel costs and weaker demand.” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Middle Eastern carriers saw a -48.1% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity fell -38.4% year-on-year, and the load factor was 70.1% (-13.1 ppt compared to April 2025). Traffic was impacted by the ongoing Iran war, though the decline slowed a little compared to March, as an uneasy ceasefire came into effect.
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