Saturday 16 / November / 2024
Muscat: Residents in Oman will take part in trials to make sure the Sultanate’s new airport is ready to open, officials said.
More than 17,000 people are expected to take part in the ‘Join the Trials’ campaign and give their feedback to airport officials.
All the residents of Oman are welcome to join the campaign, which starts on December 3, by registering on the official website designed by the Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC).
“We welcome all the people in Oman to take part in these trials. We wish to have a good mix of Omani expats, men, women and people from different age groups,” said Pablo Lorenz, Trials Manager at OAMC.
During the trials, participants will emulate travellers at the Muscat international Airport. These trials will begin at the Oman Exhibition and Convention Centre, where people will be given tickets and instructions on the tasks they are expected to perform.
Bags will also be provided to them, and after this, the Mwasalat buses will transfer the passengers to the departure gates, where they will check in to board flights.
Some participants will also be asked to drive to the airport in their vehicles to check the airport parking facilities. The services provided for arrivals will also be carried out, depending on the task given to the participants.
“The participants will do everything a traveller does, apart from travelling in the flight. After the whole process is completed, they will be asked to fill a feedback form where they can rate us on different criteria. This form is similar to those used by airport rating agencies. Therefore, we will have a good idea about where we stand after these trials, and where we need to improve,” explained Lorenz.
The trials will also test all the systems and facilities, procedures and personnel under real operational conditions, which will allow for a comprehensive analysis and mitigation of the potential problems well in advance of the opening day. Once fully operational, the new Muscat International Airport will have the capacity to handle 20 million passengers annually.
The Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) trials at the new Muscat International Airport have entered its last phase after successful completion of a series of internal technical, logistical and airport management operations among the internal stakeholders.
The last stage of ORAT, as part of the end user experience trials, will see the OAMC launching its national ‘Join the Trials’ campaign to attract residents of Oman to join this final stage of the project. This campaign is aimed at reviewing and assessing the real-time experience of customers, ensuring that operations are in line with requirements.
Concerning the ORAT trials with the public, Saud bin Nasser bin Said Al Hubaishi, General Manager of Readiness, OAMC, stated, “Today, the Muscat International Airport development is the largest project ever undertaken in the history of Oman. We are excited to be part of the journey and introduce the public to what we believe will be the gateway to opportunity.”
The key stakeholders supporting the public roadshow and ORAT trials include the Ministry of Transport and Communications for investing and managing the infrastructure development project, PACA for developing a safe and vibrant air hub, ROP for airport security, and Oman Air for making Muscat airport their travel and transit hub.
