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.jpg) Oman AirBoeing 787-9 | |||||||
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| Founded | 1970; 55 years ago (1970) (asOman International Services) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | March 1993; 32 years ago (1993-03) (asOman Air) | ||||||
| Hubs | Muscat International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | One World Miles (formerly Sindbad) | ||||||
| Alliance | Oneworld | ||||||
| Fleet size | 35[1] | ||||||
| Destinations | 44[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Oman Investment Authority | ||||||
| Headquarters | Muscat International Airport,Seeb,Oman | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Oman Air (Arabic:الطيران العماني) is theflag carrier ofOman.[3] Based atMuscat International Airport inMuscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regionalair taxi and charter flights.[4]
Oman was one of the four shareholders ofGulf Air, alongside theUAE,Qatar, andBahrain. It was also the last nation to exit from the carrier, leaving in 2007.[citation needed]
 A former De Havilland DHC-6 operated by Oman Aviation Services | |||||||
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| Founded | 1981 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1993 (1993) | ||||||
| Hubs | Muscat | ||||||
| Focus cities | |||||||
| Fleet size | 27 | ||||||
| Destinations | 17 | ||||||
| Parent company | Oman Aviation Services S.A.O. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Muscat,Oman | ||||||
| Website | oman-aviation.com (defunct) | ||||||
Oman Air traces its roots back to 1970 when Oman International Services (OIS) was established. The company became a civil aircraft ground handling provider at Beit Al Falaj Airport.[5] In 1973, OIS moved its operations to the new terminal atSeeb International Airport. The company took overGulf Air's Light Aircraft Division in 1977, before establishing itsAircraft Engineering Division in the same year. Oman's rapidly expanding civil aviation industry led OIS to build several facilities – including hangars, workshops and in-flight catering – to cater for the increase in activity.[5]
In 1981,Oman Aviation Services became ajoint-stock company. OAS also purchased 13 aircraft from Gulf Air, allowing the company to replace itsturbopropFokker F27-600 with the −500 series.[5] The following year,Oman Aviation Services jointly commenced jet services, along with Gulf Air, toSalalah. From 1983 to 1993, the company purchased new equipment, including theCessna Citation,De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter[5] and new facilities to help it improve its services.
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In 1993, Oman Air was founded. The airline's inaugural flight took place in March 1993, when a leasedBoeing 737-300 fromAnsett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) flew fromMuscat to Salalah.[6] In July of the same year, the airline's first international flight was operated toDubai, also utilising a Boeing 737-300.[5] Flights to other destinations quickly followed, withTrivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) services starting in November,Kuwait andKarachi in January 1994, andColombo in October 1994.[5] In 1995, twoAirbus A320s were wet-leased from Region Air ofSingapore to replace the 737s. From 1995 to 1997, new services were introduced toMumbai,Dhaka,Abu Dhabi,Doha andChennai. In October 1998, Oman Air became a member of the international aviation industry trade groupInternational Air Transport Association (IATA). By the end of the following year,Gwadar,Peshawar,Jeddah andAl Ain were included in the airline's expanding route network, although the former two, along with a host of other destinations, were discontinued in 2000.[5]
In March 2007, theOmani government recapitalised the airline, which saw the government increasing its shareholding from approximately 33 to 80 percent.[7] It was also announced that Oman Air would be re-evaluating its strategic plans, with a possibility of entering the long-haul market.[7] This culminated in May 2007 when Oman withdrew fromGulf Air to focus on the development of its national flag carrier, leaving Bahrain as the sole owner of the airline.[8] Oman Air commencedlong-haul services on 26 November 2007 by launching flights toBangkok andLondon.[9]
On 2 April 2007, Oman Air announced it had placed a firm order with Airbus for 5Airbus A330 aircraft, with delivery scheduled for 2009. At the 2009Dubai Air Show, Oman Air finalized the order, which involved 3 A330-300s and 2 A330-200s. Deliveries started during the third quarter of 2009. In February 2009, Oman Air announced intentions to lease another 2 A330-200s fromJet Airways.[10] During the 2009 Dubai Air Show, Oman Air also finalised an order for fiveEmbraer E175 aircraft with another 5 options, which the airline received from 2011.[11]
In March 2010, Oman Air became the first airline in the world to offer both mobile phone and Wi-Fi connectivity on selected routes.[12][13][14]
By November 2010, the Omani government held a 99.8 percent stake in the airline.[15] In 2010,Maitha Al Mahrouqi was appointed Country Manager.[16][17] In 2011, Oman Air won the Gold award for the "Airline of the Year" at France's Laurier d'Or du Voyage d'Affaires.[18]
In September 2013, the CEO stated that Oman Air was planning to have a 50 aircraft strong fleet by 2017.[19] In April 2015, Oman Air announced it would phase out its smaller aircraft to focus on an all Airbus and Boeing fleet.[20] TwoATR 42-500 aircraft were withdrawn by the end of 2015, while the fourEmbraer E175 and theBoeing 737-700 aircraft were both retired by the end of 2016.[21] In April 2017, Oman Air announced plans to replace its A330s with Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s. In July 2017, Oman Air received the award for "Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East" at the Skytrax World Airline Awards.[22] In addition, the Seven Stars Luxury Lifestyle and Hospitality Awards named Oman Air the "Best Airline in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa" for the second year in a row.[23] In October 2018, the CEO of Oman Air, Abdulaziz bin Saud al Raisi, announced that the airline was aiming to add over 60 new destinations and 70 new aircraft by 2022.[24]
In June 2019, theInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) granted the level 4 New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification to the airline. The carrier became one of the first airlines to function on the latest standards, adding the title to its existing level 3 NDC certification.[25] Oman Air andKenya Airways announced the expansion of their codeshare cooperation, which was first signed in August 2017. The expansion, effective since 1 October 2019, increased destinations for their flyers, where they were allowed to seamlessly travel beyondNairobi toEntebbe inUganda andJohannesburg inSouth Africa.[26]
In February 2021, Oman Air announced it would abandon fleet expansion plans due to lower demand as COVID-19 emerged. Chairman Mohammed Al-Barwani announced a reduction of aircraft from 50 to 36 aircraft.[27] Additionally, a few non-profitable routes, includingAthens andCasablanca, were terminated.[28] In September 2021, Oman Air announced its intentions to join theOneworld alliance by the end of 2022.[29] This was followed by an announcement in June 2022 that Oman Air would join the alliance in 2024.
In August 2023, Oman Air announced a new program to restructure the airline after an assessment was conducted of the airline's commercial and financial performance. Saeed Al Mawali, chairman of the airline, stated that the program would focus on four areas; financial sustainability, corporate governance, commercial aspects, and human capital. He added that a qualified team would be required to implement the program over 2–3 years.[30]
In February 2024, Oman Air announced it would retire its fleet of 10Airbus A330 aircraft by March 2024 as well as cease operations on four routes and downsize operations on several others as part of ongoing restructuring efforts.[31] In November, following rolling delays, Oman Air joined theOneworld alliance on 30 June 2025.[32][33]
In October 2025, Oman Air removed the name "Israel" from its flight maps and replaced it with "State of Palestine."[34]
Sindbad is Oman Air's frequent flyer program, launched in 2006. It is a three-tier frequent flyer program; the three tiers are Sindbad Blue, Sindbad Silver and Sindbad Gold. Sindbad also has a partnership agreement with the respective program of Etihad Airways and miles can be earned through several Sindbad partners.[35]
The original livery features a white fuselage with red and green cheatlines, with the airline's English and Arabic names written in red and green, respectively. Oman's national symbol, theKhanjar, is painted in red on the vertical stabilizer.[citation needed] In the late 1990s, the livery was revised, with the cheat lines removed but the corporate red-green palette kept. A new red vertical stabilizer was introduced, with the khanjar repainted in white and a green stripe painted on the rear fuselage. For aircraft with wingtips, the logo was added on them with a solid red background.[citation needed] The current livery also features a white fuselage, but the vertical stabilizer changed to blue, and an incense smoke replacing the khanjar as the official logo. Oman Air's names in Arabic and English are now painted in gold and silver, respectively.[citation needed]
As of April 2024, Oman Air operates a network of 44 destinations in 24 countries out of itshub at Muscat and the airlines flies to destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa. The country that sees the most services is India with 16 destinations.[38]
Oman Air hascodeshare agreements with the following airlines:[39]
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As of November 2025[update], Oman Air operates an all-Boeing fleet composed of the following aircraft:[47]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers[1] | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | J | Y | Total | ||||
| Boeing 737-800 | 7 | — | — | 12 | 150 | 162 | To be retired by late 2026. |
| Boeing 737-900ER | 7 | — | — | 12 | 171 | 183 | To be retired by late 2026 and transferred toSun Country Airlines.[48] |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 13 | 1 | — | 12 | 150 | 162 | 3 equipped with an all-economy class configuration and branded as 'Oman Air Connect'.[49] |
| — | 189 | 189 | |||||
| Boeing 787-9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 232 | 264 | |
| — | 30 | 258 | 288 | One leased toRiyadh Air. | |||
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 1[50] | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 35 | 8 | |||||
Oman Air had additionally previously operated the following aircraft:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4-203 | 1999 | 1999 | Leased fromPegasus Airlines. |
| Airbus A310-300 | 1999 | 2009 | Leased fromHi Fly. |
| Airbus A320-200 | 1995 | 2002 | Leased fromLotus Air and Pegasus Airlines. |
| Airbus A330-200 | 2009[citation needed] | 2024[31] | |
| Airbus A330-300 | 2014[citation needed] | 2024[31] | |
| ATR 42-500 | 1998 | 2015 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1993 | 1995 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 1999 | 2002 | Leased from Pegasus Airlines. |
| Boeing 737-700 | 1999 | 2015 | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 1996 | 1996 | Leased fromRoyal Brunei Airlines. |
| Boeing 767-200ER | 2007 | 2008 | Leased fromMalév Hungarian Airlines. |
| Embraer E175 | 2011 | 2020 | |
| Fokker F27-500 | 1995 | 2009 | One written off as A4O-FE |
| Cessna Citation II | Unknown | Unknown | |
| De Haviland DHC-6 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Boeing 727 | 1997 | 1998 | Leased fromNationwide Airlines. |
| Date | Location | Aircraft | Registration | Aircraft Damage | Total on board | Casualties or Fatalities | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 December 1991 | Khasab Airport | De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | A4O-DB | SUB | 19 | 0 | Severe injured while a Oman Aviation Services DHC-6 hard landed, collapsed it's nose gear causing it to veer of the runway. | [51][52] |
| 27 May 1995 | Muscat-Seeb Airport | Fokker F27 Friendship 500RF | A4O-FE | W/O | 46 | 0 | Made a gear-up landing, it wasdamaged beyond repair. | [53] |
| 15 December 2010 | Salalah International Airport | Boeing 737-81M (WL) | A4O-BE | SUB | 124 | 0 | The nose gear veered off the runway, both nose gear tires wereout of limit causing the nose gear tires to deflate.FOD came to the plane due to the debris. Serving as WY905. | [54][55] |
| 19 May 2019 | Muscat International Airport | Boeing 737-81M (WL) | A4O-BW | SUB | 0 | 0 | The standing aircraft was pushed by a hailstorm, both engines detached, the winglet hit an object, and almost hit another Oman AirBoeing 737-800 | [56] |
| 18 October 2023 | 77.5 nm West ofMuscat | Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner | A4O-SH | NIL | 161 | 0 | Severe turbulence, plates and glasses fell down and broke, three cabin crewmembers suffered minor injuries. | [57] |
| 31 May 2025 | Muscat International Airport | Boeing 737 MAX 8 | A4O-ML | SUB | 152 | 0 | Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft experienced Low pressure engine (ENG) No.1 hydraulic PUMP light, they decided to return back to Muscat and avoid overweight landing, when the aircraft landed, number 1 tire failed and there were to the damage hydraulic pipes, Oman Airports Operations reported thatFOD came all over the runway, theFOD was later identified as coming from Oman Air Flight OMA15, due to the damage of the aircraft, the aircraft was disabled and needed to be towed back. | [58][59] |
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