Muscat International Airport opened in March 2018, replacing the former Seeb International Airport with a facility located 32 kilometers west of central Muscat in the Seeb district. The airport handles approximately 20 million passengers annually and serves as the hub for Oman Air, the national carrier. The terminal building spans 580,000 square meters and operates as a single integrated structure, meaning all arriving passengers follow the same path regardless of airline or origin point. The airport sits at 14 meters above sea level in flat coastal terrain, with the Gulf of Oman visible from certain windows on the northern side.
Immigration counters occupy the ground floor immediately after passengers exit aircraft jetways or bus gates. Oman permits visa-on-arrival for 103 nationalities as of 2024, with the list available at www.rop.gov.om, the website of the Royal Oman Police. Citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—enter without visas. The visa-on-arrival costs 5 Omani rials for a ten-day stay, 20 rials for a one-month stay, and must be paid by credit card at the immigration counter or through the Royal Oman Police mobile application before arrival. Cash is not accepted for visa payment. The immigration officer will stamp the passport and provide a printed visa slip. Processing time ranges from five to fifteen minutes per passenger depending on queue length. Passport validity must extend at least six months beyond the intended departure date.
Baggage claim operates on eight carousels arranged in two parallel rows. Flight information displays above each carousel show arriving flight numbers, but the system does not announce which carousel will receive which flight until baggage begins appearing, typically fifteen to twenty-five minutes after passengers reach the hall. Trolleys are free and located at the ends of each carousel row. The baggage hall remains cool year-round, maintained at approximately 22 degrees Celsius.
Customs inspection follows baggage claim through clearly marked green and red channels. The green channel permits passage without declaration for personal effects, 400 cigarettes, two liters of alcohol for non-Muslim visitors, and gifts valued under 100 Omani rials. Oman prohibits alcohol importation for Muslim visitors regardless of nationality. The red channel requires declaration for amounts exceeding these limits, commercial goods, or restricted items including drone equipment, which requires advance permit from the Public Authority for Civil Aviation. Customs officers occasionally direct passengers from the green channel to baggage X-ray machines regardless of declaration status. Alcohol bottles must remain sealed until reaching licensed premises. The entire customs area uses overhead signage in Arabic and English.
The arrivals hall beyond customs contains three currency exchange counters operated by different banks—Bank Muscat, National Bank of Oman, and Ahli Bank—with exchange rates displayed on LED boards. These counters open from 0600 to 2300 daily. The Omani rial subdivides into 1,000 baisa and has maintained a fixed exchange rate of 2.6008 rials to one United States dollar since 1986, enforced by the Central Bank of Oman. Exchange counters accept US dollars, British pounds, euros, UAE dirhams, and Saudi riyals in cash, providing slightly less favorable rates than banks in the city but eliminating the need to locate banking facilities immediately after arrival. Ten ATMs line the wall opposite the exchange counters, accepting Visa, Mastercard, and Maestro cards, dispensing rials in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50. Withdrawal fees depend on the issuing bank.
Mobile network providers operate adjacent kiosks selling tourist SIM cards. Omantel and Ooredoo both offer prepaid packages with data allocations ranging from 10 gigabytes for 5 rials to 50 gigabytes for 15 rials, valid for thirty days. Passport presentation is required for SIM card purchase due to registration regulations enforced by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Activation occurs within five minutes of purchase. The airport provides free WiFi throughout the terminal with no time limit, accessible by entering a passport number on the login portal.
Ground transportation occupies the area immediately outside the arrivals hall through automatic sliding doors. Orange and white taxis operated by Mwasalat, the national transport company, queue in designated ranks with electronic dispatch boards showing available vehicles. These taxis use meters starting at 0.3 rials, charging 0.3 rials per kilometer. The journey from the airport to Mutrah Souq in central Muscat measures approximately 40 kilometers and costs 12 to 15 rials depending on traffic, requiring thirty-five to fifty minutes during off-peak hours and up to ninety minutes during morning rush between 0700 and 0900 or evening rush between 1700 and 1900. Drivers accept cash in rials or payment through the Mwasalat app using credit cards. Private hire vehicles using apps including Marhaba and OTaxi also operate from the airport, with pricing similar to or slightly below metered taxis. These vehicles park in a separate area marked by blue signage, requiring a short walk of approximately 100 meters from the arrivals hall.
Mwasalat operates bus route 1 from the airport to Ruwi Bus Station in central Muscat, departing every thirty minutes from 0600 to 2200. The journey costs 0.5 rials per person, paid in cash to the driver or using a rechargeable Mwasalat card purchased at the information desk inside the arrivals hall for 1 rial including 0.5 rials credit. The bus stops at multiple points along Sultan Qaboos Street, the main thoroughfare connecting the airport to the city. Journey time ranges from sixty to ninety minutes depending on traffic. Buses are air-conditioned white coaches with luggage compartments underneath.
Car rental counters for international companies—Europcar, Thrifty, Budget, Sixt—and local operators including Mark Tours and Al Maha occupy the eastern end of the arrivals hall. Rental requires a valid passport, credit card in the driver's name, and either an international driving permit or a driving license in English. Licenses in other languages require translation certified by the driver's embassy. Drivers must be at least 21 years old, with some companies requiring 25 years minimum age for certain vehicle categories. Daily rates start at 12 rials for economy sedans, reaching 50 rials for full-size SUVs. Third-party liability insurance is mandatory and included in the quoted rate. Comprehensive coverage costs an additional 3 to 5 rials per day. The counters operate 24 hours, though vehicle selection diminishes significantly after 2200.
The airport sits on Highway 1, the primary coastal route connecting the Batinah region in the north to Muscat. Signage directs drivers toward Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, and other major destinations. Highway 1 becomes Sultan Qaboos Street as it enters the Muscat metropolitan area. Speed limits on the highway range from 100 to 120 kilometers per hour, reduced to 80 or 60 in populated areas, enforced by fixed cameras visible as white posts beside the road and mobile police units. The road system uses roundabouts rather than traffic lights at most intersections.
The arrivals hall contains one branch of Muscat Pharmacy, open from 0800 to 2300, selling basic medications available without prescription including pain relievers, antihistamines, and rehydration solutions. Prescription medications require documentation from a physician. A Costa Coffee and a Paul bakery provide seating areas with electrical outlets beneath tables. Water fountains offering chilled filtered water appear at intervals of approximately 50 meters throughout the terminal. Bathrooms include Western-style toilets and bidet hoses in all stalls.
Prayer rooms for men and women occupy separate facilities on the ground floor, marked with green signs showing Islamic symbols. These rooms remain open 24 hours and contain ablution facilities and prayer mats. The men's prayer room accommodates approximately thirty people, the women's twenty.
The departures level, located on the first floor, contains additional food outlets, duty-free shops selling perfumes and Omani frankincense, and smoking rooms, but arriving passengers have no direct access to this level before clearing immigration and customs. The airport prohibits smoking in all other areas including outdoor walkways between the terminal and parking structures.