An airplane takes off from an airport runway during sunset with several aircraft parked nearby.

Salalah Airport

Written by: Nils Lindhorst Last updated at: May 21, 2025

The international airport of Salalah is located behind the airport in Muscat, the second largest in the country. The airport is about 10 kilometers from the city center and lies a little north of Salalah. From here, one can choose both domestic connections to Muscat and other regions of Oman as well as European destinations.

History of the airport

The airport of Salalah was opened in 1977. It was the time when Sultan Qaboos had just begun to implement the first significant improvements in infrastructure development. The very first reforms and construction projects benefited from the steady flow of oil. Initially, Salalah Airport was not much more than a small domestic airport from which flights to Muscat departed. In the following years, there were a few charter flights, but significant development was lacking. This only materialized over time. In 2000, only about 190,000 passengers were processed here in a year. In 2003, the first direct flights to and from Salalah were added to the schedule. Initially, there were only short-haul destinations like Dubai, but in 2004, regular flights to India commenced from Salalah. Since 2014, work has been underway for further expansion and modernization of the airport.

Developments at Salalah Airport

As early as 2013, before the works for the modernization and expansion of Salalah Airport had begun, the number of passengers processed here in a year had multiplied. Almost 800,000 people passed through in 2013. Today, the expansion is already well underway. The new terminal at the airport has already been put into operation and allows for faster and more comfortable processing of arriving and departing guests - including new duty-free shopping opportunities and several international car rental companies that have their offices and stores here. In addition, there have been a whole series of new interesting flight connections to and from Salalah in recent years.

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