By Staff Reporter — MUSCAT: Dec. 3: Salalah Airport last week received the first direct Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore. The twice-weekly service will be operated by Airbus A320, which accommodates 150 passengers in economy class and eight passengers in first class. Salim bin Awadh al Yafei, GM, Salalah Airport, said, “We are pleased to welcome the first direct flight connecting Salalah with Lahore in Pakistan. This step enhances the presence of the airport internationally, and makes travel convenient for the 70,000 Pakistani residents in Salalah. Additionally, it contributes in boosting tourism sector in the area by providing direct access to Salalah for visitors from Pakistan without the need to stop at Muscat.”
“Since its official launch, Salalah Airport has achieved a remarkable growth in the number of users and the prompt processing of passengers passing through the terminal. The airport recently celebrated one million passengers in the first 10 months of 2016, indicating a growth of 19 per cent on an annual basis. With the launch of the new direct flight to Pakistan, we hope to see higher numbers of passengers in the coming period and we are well placed to welcome them,” he added.
Shahzad M Paracha, Country Manager PIA, added, “This will serve Pakistani nationals working in Salalah, who previously had to travel first to Muscat then on to Pakistan. We will operate two direct flights weekly, and we take this opportunity to thank the Salalah Airport management and staff as well as OAMC for their efforts and high professionalism they showed as they welcomed our first direct flight.”
Thursday flights will departure from Allama Iqbal International Airport at 12:30 pm, and will land at Salalah Airport at 3:30 pm. The departure time from Salalah will be at 16:30 and land at Lahore at 21:00. Additionally, the Sunday flight will departure from Lahore at 9:15 pm, and will land at Salalah at 12 am. The departure time from Salalah will be at 1:15 am and will land in Pakistan at 5:45 pm.
“To attract more aviation companies to operate their direct flights to Salalah Airport, we have worked closely with OAMC to market the new airport in the global markets. The Salalah- Lahore direct flight comes as part of our strategic goal of placing Oman’s airports amongst the top 20 airports in the world by 2020,” Salim bin Awadh al Yafei concluded.
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