German airport consultants helping Muscat Airport with preparation

Internal consutlants from Germany's Munich Airport have begun readiness tests in Oman in the countdown to the opening of the new Muscat Airport.

Bi-weekly operational readiness and airport transfer (ORAT) trials are now underway at Muscat Airport in the lead-up to the project’s eagerly anticipated public launch. The preparedness procedures, being conducted by one of the worldwide ORAT market leaders Munich Airport International (MAI), feature real-life aircraft, volunteer passengers, and thousands of pieces of luggage, while testing for multiple scenarios including emergency situations.

MAI, the partner consulting firm, is a newly established subsidiary of Munich Airport’s operating company FMG, offer full-cycle support for airport developments and expansions across the globe, including in the areas of airport and terminal planning, process and profit & revenue optimisation, training services, and comprehensive airport management.

The company’s consulting team has been working in partnership with the Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) for the past seven years, previously guiding the development of Oman’s Salalah Airport through to its successful operational transfer in 2015. In its first phase, the new Muscat Airport, which has been designed to accommodate the world’s largest aircraft (the Airbus A380), is expected to handle 12 million passengers per year, with the capacity to increase this figure to 24, 36, and then 48 million passengers through staged future expansions.

Speaking on the current ORAT phase of preparations, Ivonne Kuger, MAI Vice President Operations, said, “At Muscat Airport, we have reached the final stage and we can say the countdown for the opening has started. After the opening our consulting team will remain onsite to provide post-opening support until the operations run smoothly.”

Beyond Oman, MAI have also provided services in the region for projects in Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Riyadh, and will seek to open a Middle Eastern sales office as a medium-term goal. Ralph Gaffal, Managing Director for MAI, said of the company’s plans, “We want to steadily improve our range of services and build on our global presence..... With our future foreign sales offices, we will be able to respond more quickly and effectively to customer needs and the expectations of the market.”