Muscat: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has responded to the reports on social media quoting SalamAir CEO, who said that high ticket fares to Salalah are due to high tax rates, which is around RO20 per ticket.
CAA said that it will coordinate with the management of SalamAir as a strategic partner to find out the reasons behind the CEO's statement.
Captain Mohammed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir, had said on Monday in a panel discussion that his airline will not increase the number of its flights to Salalah during the Khareef season because of the taxes, which is RO20 per passenger from the ticket fare of RO50.
He said, "The demand for the Dhofar Governorate during the Khareef is increasing, and there is no empty seat on all flights during the next five days, but we will not be able to increase the number of flights because this is costly to us."
Ahmed added, "Because of the tax per passenger, increasing the number of flights will incur us losses."
He called for concerted efforts among all concerned parties to encourage tourism to the Dhofar Governorate, especially as SalamAir is a private airline.
He said on the sidelines of a Third Arab Forum for Tourism Media in Dhofar Governorate, organized by the Arab Center for Tourism Information
The authority clarified that those concerned with it had conducted an analytical study on the fees imposed on domestic flights, including fees charged by CAA such as departure fees and air navigation fees, as well as fees charged by Oman Airports Company for aircraft landing and parking fees.
The study showed the fees for July 2023 were at a rate of RO8.857 per passenger for return trips between Muscat International Airport and Salalah Airport.
"The presence of two ground handling companies at Muscat International Airport enhances the chances of airlines obtaining competitive prices for services, and there is no interference from CAA in the operating costs of airlines, including their agreements with service providers."
The authority stressed that it is continuing to coordinate with the concerned authorities and strategic partners to ensure concerted efforts to provide all means to reduce the prices of domestic flights and ensure their availability to cover the needs of the local market.
CAA said that the increase in air traffic is a positive indicator of the recovery of the civil aviation sector from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and expressed its willingness to cooperate with any of the national carriers to overcome the challenges they face to accelerate the recovery of the civil aviation sector in the Sultanate of Oman.
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