Muscat Seeb Airport

Not Verified | Seeb airport is modern, clean, huge (it almost seems way too big for the number of flights, perhaps hoping for increases in services in future) and comfortable. There are few seats in the main waiting area, but if you walk down any of the limbs to the departure gates you will find large sofas which you can freely lounge around on (we managed to get a couple of hours sleep). There is free wifi and plenty of charging points for your phone. Transit security was seamless although on our return we had to go through baggage X-Ray twice - once as normal between arrivals and departures, but also at the departure gate which was annoying as we had to pour drinks away that we thought we would be ok with as we had already gone through security. Not sure if this is peculiar to flights to the UK but I haven't noticed it anywhere else and on the outbound to KTM there were no extra checks. Still, all in all a good airport.

✅ Trip Verified | MCT Airport opened about a year ago after much delay but it was worth waiting for this overdue replacement of old Seeb terminals. Colour scheme and style reflects Oman's traditional design and at the same time bring a modern impression. Both arrival and departure procedures are smooth although a few more immigration officers on duty would be appreciated on arrival. Duty-free shopping offers a wide range of products but prices are not really competitive except for tobacco products.

✅ Trip Verified | What kind of an airport spends a lot of effort and clearly to look upscale and chic but doesn't have enough seating for passengers? The seats are weirdly shaped benches, I preferred to sit on the floor rather than those humiliating benches.

✅ Trip Verified | The still fairly new Muscat Airport seems to have overcome its “teething problems”, as an earlier reviewer had put it. I use it about once every month or two. Shops, duty free offerings etc. are of international standard. There are relatively comfortable lounges between the departure gates and very decent airline and frequent flyer lounges in the first floor. I like the overall design anyway. Baggage delivery on arrival is now much faster than in the initial days. Passport control on immigration can still be somewhat lengthy, but since I have a resident card and use the electronic gates, I usually reach my car in the long-term parking around 25-30 min after landing.

✅ Trip Verified | Muscat Airport is very new, spacious and well equipped. Once through security you can collect a free stroller for kids and a small trolley for your hand luggage. The food court has various options including MacDonalds and KFC. There is supposed to be free wifi though I was unable to get my UK phone to connect. I was told beforehand that I could buy an Omani SIM card but the information desk said that this was not possible. Probably the highlight was the free play area by the food court. Travelling with a 3 and 5 year old, they enjoyed that place so much that we almost missed our connecting flight, such was their reluctance to leave the place. The only sour note was the fact that Omani airports charge you OMR 4 per piece of baggage which is outsize. Presenting the car seats for check in was no issue and they made no mention of this charge – simply tagging the wrapped seats and telling me where the outsize baggage drop off was located. However going to the outsize baggage drop off resulted in being redirected to another counter where you had to pay OMR 4 (£8) per outsize item. If I had not wrapped the two car seats together this would have been doubled. Had I brought a stroller for each each child the fees would keep on adding up. This is the first time I have ever been asked to pay to take baby equipment on board and I was very surprised. There is no mention of this on the Oman Air website and I did not see it mentioned on the Muscat Airport website either. I travelled from London to Zanzibar with Oman Air, breaking the return journey in Muscat. This was the only place the fee was charged, not LHR, nor ZNZ or for transit through MCT. I queried this at the time but was told that this charge had been introduced in the last few months. I searched it on my return and found some newspaper articles referring to it (apparently applies in Dubai too). Parents travelling with infants, forewarned is forearmed.

✅ Trip Verified | Immigration took 1 hour and 30 minutes due to the amount of people arriving for weekend and half the immigration booths being closed. Total mismanagement! A great tourist welcome to a country that wants to expand its tourism and project a welcoming picture. A great start into a weekend, I will seriously consider choosing another destination next time. I lost any interest in exploring the rest of this relatively newly opened airport.

✅ Trip Verified | So many controls and so long, we almost missed our flight. I travel a lot and have never seen such a disorganized airport! 2 queues only to check more than 400 passengers it was a nightmare, such a stressful situation.

✅ Trip Verified | It was my first time at Muscat airport and the arrival experience was terrible! I waited for 45 minutes at passport control, unbelievable, since it was a quiet time. What is the point of having 30 desks at immigration, if only 5 or 6 are manned? Then got to baggage reclaim and after all that time, the bags were still not delivered.

✅ Trip Verified | New airport, we felt it was a stress free experience, everything went smoothly. I liked the design features. Sorry we didn't transfer through Muscat instead of Dubai.

✅ Trip Verified | I had the misfortune to spend an 8 hour layover at this rambling airport with rude staff, limited food options (fewer than Bristol airport which is a provincial airport in the UK) and possibly the most uncomfortable seating ever. Some of the seating looks like it was designed by Salvador Dali. The old airport had a south Indian restaurant, now it's just the bog standard mcDonalds, KFC and a couple of others. I was overcharged for a sandwich and a coffee in Plenty. Rubbish.