Oman Air posts 2024 loss while airport passenger numbers rise

Oman Airports, the company managing Muscat International Airport and three others, posted a 15 percent increase in net income last year on more passenger throughput, a local newspaper reported.

At the same time, national carrier Oman Air reported a OR150 million ($390 million) loss, even before interest and taxes, for 2024, the local Oman Daily Observer reported. Financing costs, including interest payments, were OR85 million, the newspaper said.

The airports operator, meanwhile, reported OR114.5 million in operational revenue, driven by higher passenger numbers at both Muscat and Salalah Airports, Muscat Daily reported, quoting Hamood bin Musbah al Alawi, acting CEO of Oman Airports. Net income for the year OR23.5 million. 

Muscat International handled 12.9 million passengers last year, up only 2 percent from the previous year. 

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Salalah Airport exceeded pre-pandemic levels, experiencing 17 percent increase in passenger traffic compared to 2019. The newspaper did not give comparable figures for 2024. 

Oman Airports also operates Sohar and Duqm airfields.

The Gulf state is starting up two new trade zones, one at Muscat Airport, the Oman Daily Observer reported. 

The zones aim to expand the country’s logistics, ecommerce and trade, the paper said, quoting Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones.