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Sensibility of Oman's airport strategy is thrown into question: report

OMAN has invested US$12 billion since 2010 on overhauling its aviation sector to keep up with the rapid growth seen in its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbours.

The regional states own the world's fastest growing airlines and their airports are fast becoming global hubs.

For its part Oman has decongested its air routes and unlocked airspace capacity, however, experts maintain the country needs to harness the capabilities of a modern fleet and deploy technology to optimise both ground services and airspace management, reports the Times of Oman.

Currently, the sultanate is evaluating new ways to compensate for the losses of low oil prices. But the last thing the government needs is for its air transport industry to consume more funds that have small results.

The answer is not just to raise aeronautical fees or airport taxes and hope that this would help pay off for the huge financial outlay the airports have been funded from. Similarly, the act of inviting business partners in ground handling or air cargo would not be enough. It is more complex than that.

Investors would like to see strategic targets and solid commitments. But the strategy of the airports is not just confined to the size of the terminal building, the concourse structure or the capacity of the runway, but to the infrastructure of the country as well, said the newspaper article.

All the major players at local airports, the Oman Airports Management Company, Oman Air and Public Authority of Civil Aviation are government owned. The most successful airports have their core services fully privatised. They know that the governments of the world, riddled with heavy bureaucracy, cannot manage these airports efficiently.

The five airports in the country enjoy unparallel monopoly because their services are fully owned by the government. With this scenario, how will private investments pour in to expand the air traffic activities? The Omani airports need to compete with each other.

Oman cannot be a one-airport affair by building its reputation in Muscat alone. Other airports need to reap the benefits and justify the investments. The country needs to redefine its relationship and alliances with its partners and focus on becoming a most preferred destination and not living in the shadow of a super airport next door, said the report.