Middle East Business

Salalah gets its first based aircraft, with three international routes from the end of October

By Staff Writer  |  28 August 2026

Bookings opened on 26 August for Jeddah, Chattogram and Calicut, flown from a new base in Dhofar on the winter schedule.

SalamAir announced on 27 August the establishment of Salalah's first airline base, positioning an aircraft in the city and adding direct international connectivity from Dhofar Governorate. The base will initially serve three destinations: Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Chattogram in Bangladesh and Calicut in India.

Bookings opened on 26 August 2026 and flights are scheduled to start from the end of October, as part of the airline's Winter 2026 schedule. The operation will be flown by the carrier's A320neo and A321neo aircraft. The airline currently operates 18 aircraft.

By positioning an aircraft in Salalah, we will strengthen direct international connectivity, provide greater travel choices for the community, and support Salalah's continued growth as a year-round tourism and economic destination for Oman.

Adrian Hamilton-Manns, Chief Executive Officer of SalamAir

What a based aircraft changes

An airline can fly a route into a city without keeping anything there overnight. A base is the other arrangement: the aircraft starts and ends its day in Salalah, which is what allows an early departure and a late return rather than whatever slot is left once the capital's programme has been flown. It is also what converts a seasonal surge into a year round timetable.

The demand it is being built on is already measured. At the peak of the 2026 Khareef season the airline ran up to 15 daily flights on the Muscat to Salalah route and added thousands of seats. The base is intended to carry that beyond the monsoon window rather than repeat it once a year.

The winter picture

Alongside the scheduled routes, the airline will operate charter services between Salalah and Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan over the winter season, aimed at inbound tourism from Central Asia and at spreading arrivals outside the traditional peak.

The base is described as part of a wider plan to expand operations from airports across Oman, serve markets that are currently underserved and generate new demand, and to support the development of the country's aviation and tourism sectors while strengthening Dhofar's links with international markets.

Why it reads as infrastructure news

Dhofar's construction market has run on a seasonal rhythm for years, and connectivity is part of what sets that rhythm. A city with three year round international departures and a based aircraft is easier to staff, easier to supply and easier to sell to an investor than a city that fills for three months and empties. That is the argument the airline is making, and it is worth watching whether the winter loads support it.

What is published so far is three routes, a booking date and an end of October start. No frequencies, no aircraft registration and no second base have been named.