Oman Airports

MARCH 2019

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Gateways To Opportunity

Oman Airports Management Company INSPIRED BY YOUR SUCCESS

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OMAN AIRPORTS MANAGEMENT COMPANY

GATEWAYS TO OPPORTUNITY Airports are more than a logistical option for travelling from A to B; they are an experience that bookends holidays and business trips, and the success and smooth delivery of this experience can make or break our memories of the entire venture. The professionalism of an airport equals peace of mind for the businesses using them.

Airports juggle and navigate a complex network of logistics, but aim to always deliver these with an ease and calm for their passengers and clients; with so many outcomes reliant on this happening successfully, companies like Oman Airports Management Company (OA) carry a heavy responsibility.

WRITTEN BY AMY BUXTON

OMAN AIRPORTS MANAGEMENT COMPANY

A government-owned operation, OA has been charged

with the management and operation of all civil airports within the Sultanate of Oman. It falls to OA to ensure the seamless operation of Oman’s airports, from marketing and communications through to commercial real estate management and coordinating security, as well as overseeing the infrastructure of the airport itself, including terminal buildings, cargo buildings, runway, apron and car parking.

N

ot content to simply operate a reliable airport, OA wants to

further investments have also been committed to develop ancillary

make theirs one of the top 20 airports in the world by 2020.

infrastructure such as roads to and from the locations. David

Overseeing what they describe as the “gateways to Oman”,

broke down what this level of investment and effort has been able

the company states its purpose as “growing gateways to beauty and opportunity”.

to deliver: “There is no comparison between the old-world airports and the

Oman’s first airport, Bait Al Falaj Airport, no longer exists, but

new; every single part of the service offering for customers and the

the company now oversees four main locations: Sohar Airport,

systems behind our operations is different. In Muscat, a 44-year-

Duqm Airport, Salalah Airport, and Muscat International Airport

old 52,000 sqm building has been replaced with a new 360,000

né Seeb International Airport. Under OA, Muscat International

sqm construction, with a capacity of 20 million, and the airports

Airport has changed more than its name; both it and Salalah have

have already been developed to allow for future expansion in line

had numerous recent investments and expansions made to their

with the airports’ master plans. All airports now have boarding

facilities. In fact, the first anniversary of Muscat’s expansion falls

bridges, improved retail space and fully integrated systems and

this month; we took this opportunity to speak with David Wilson,

control centres, allowing us to provide a much higher quality of

Chief Operations Officer of OA, to take us through the various ways

service to airlines and passengers. Indeed, the new infrastructure

the company is working towards its 2020 goal, and in particular, to

is absolutely essential to be able to deliver the level of service that

tell us more about the fruits of this expansion.

our customers expect.”

“We are incredibly fortunate to have been able to work in

The new Muscat International Airport opened a year ago, on

partnership with the Government of the Sultanate of Oman to

March 20th 2018, and this first year has already seen positive

open new airports for the nation,” David tells us. “The scale of the

results for OA’s revenue, as well as the happiness of their clients.

projects to build and open the new airports were unprecedented

As David shared, “Our new retail and duty free offer a wonderful

in Oman in terms of investment, profile and prestige.” He isn’t

product portfolio which can compete with the best airports globally.

exaggerating; the new Muscat airport took ten years of planning

Passenger experience has also improved significantly since opening

and delivery with US$4.4bn of investment, and on top of this

the new airport and our satisfaction scores have improved across

effort, Salalah’s modernisation cost a further US$0.95bn. These

multiple indicators.” Especially excitingly, the new airport seems to

figures only account for work on the airports themselves, but

have turned OA’s 2020 goal into something of a reality: “Quarter 4

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OMAN AIRPORTS MANAGEMENT COMPANY scores in the ACI-ASQ survey (an airport benchmark quality survey)

new technologies are being brought into the aviation sector

have ranked Muscat Airport 18th Best Airport in the world for

regularly. Don’t ever think you know best. Market research and

overall satisfaction in the 5-15 million passengers airport category.”

listening to passenger feedback can help shape your future plans.

The new Salalah Airport terminal building, which was opened in

Benchmarking industry is very important too, so as we learn from

2015, is also performing very well. It experienced a record-breaking

others in the industry.”

Khareef season (Oman’s monsoon season) in 2018, processing over

Whilst the new airports have only been recently completed,

630,000 tourists who were visiting the region, compared to around

OA is already looking into improvements and new technologies

470,000 in 2017. Salalah Airport has been ranked 6th Best airport

to introduce to them. For example, they are introducing self-

for passenger overall satisfaction in the world in under 2 million

service check-ins and self-bag drops to speed up and streamline

passengers per year category. The airport also holds the number

passengers’ first experiences at the airport, and they are also

one ranking when compared to airports in the Middle East for

implementing technologies such as passenger flow management

overall satisfaction. This admirable achievement is reflected by

systems. These systems highlight hot spots throughout the entire

their overall success throughout the region:

passenger journey to allow the airport to predict ‘pinch points’

“Our performance is very positive. We are performing better than many other airports in the Middle East, especially during these

and areas that will slow down their progress smoothly through the airport process.

challenging times in the region. We’ve seen a 7% increase on our

David joined Oman Airports in June 2017, having previously

passenger numbers in the last year across all our airports, including

spent a year as COO at Mumbai International, India, following a

a 15% increase in transfer passengers in Muscat, which has been

lengthy career with several UK airports. This career has a slightly

made possible through forging and nurturing strong relationships

unusual origin, evolving from his decision to join the Rescue

with our airlines and other partners.”

& Firefighting Service at Edinburgh Airport in February 1993,

OA has also expanded Muscat through the cargo market, which has grown steadily for them for the past 12 months. This growth was partially facilitated by the opening of a new cargo facility as part of the airport’s remodelling, which has a capacity of 380k tonnes.

“This is definitely a targeted growth area for Oman Airports over the coming years, and we will be working closely with our national stakeholders and international partners to continue to improve and manage the cargo market in Oman.”

These ambitious developments were supported by many bodies throughout Oman: support from Oman’s government through the Ministry of Transport & Communication has been key, but on top of this, OA also benefits from strong bonds that it has built with a variety of other partners, including the Public Authority for Civil Aviation, Oman Aviation Group, Royal Oman Police, Oman Air and Oman Aviation Services. However, it is not only these prestigious external partners, but the excellence of OA’s own team that has led to its success. To date, OA employs a team of over 1,200 staff, 93% of whom hail from Oman. As well as supporting the country through this local employment, OA also provides training and additional learning opportunities to its staff through its Learning & Development Centre. 75% of OA’s total staff made use of these programs last year.

To support good people, a truly competitive company in any industry needs to stay up to date with the latest technology.

David is well aware of the importance of this advantage within a sector as complex as aviation: “We work in a fast-paced industry;

following several years in the British Army. “During my time in the

RFFS, I was given a number of opportunities by the then operator (BAA) to experience many other parts of the airport’s operation, and also attended many courses to improve my technical knowledge, leadership and interpersonal skills.”

This rise through the aviation industry combined with David’s time in the army allowed him to develop a broad knowledge and efficient approach to airport management. We asked David about his approach to leadership, and his answer…… invest time with your staff and stakeholders and always putting safety and customer satisfaction first: “Never compromise on safety and compliance, focus on delivering an excellent customer experience every day and always look for opportunities to operate at optimal cost.”

With this sort of approach, safeguarding efficiency, service, standards and security, combined with OA’s constant search for the latest and most up-to-date facilities and technology they can offer, it seems that OA are on their way to achieving their 2020 goal.

The difference between Oman’s old airports and the new facilities is staggering, and future success seems certain for David and the OA team. However, it’s the passengers who will really feel the

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