Oman Air is set to reshape leisure and short-haul travel in the Gulf with a newly announced nonstop Dubai–Salalah route, a move that regional tourism officials and industry analysts say could accelerate the Dhofar region’s rise as one of the Middle East’s most compelling year-round destinations. Launching on 3 July 2026 with three weekly flights, the service directly connects the UAE’s busiest city with Oman’s lush southern governorate just as demand for cooler summer escapes and nature-led holidays is surging across the Gulf.
A Strategic New Corridor Between Dubai and Dhofar
Oman Air’s decision to restart direct operations between Dubai and Salalah, after a hiatus since late 2019, marks a calculated bet on the growth of intra-GCC tourism and the shifting travel habits of UAE and Gulf residents. The new service will run three times a week from 3 July to 30 August 2026, coinciding with the heart of the Khareef season, when Salalah’s hillsides turn green under seasonal monsoon rains and temperatures dip well below typical Gulf summer highs.
Industry schedules show that the airline will deploy all-economy Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route, signaling a focus on families, budget-conscious leisure travelers, and tour groups. The sector was previously served via connections through Muscat, or by long overland drives from the UAE. By restoring nonstop connectivity, Oman Air is cutting travel time dramatically and positioning Salalah as a weekend or short-stay destination for Dubai-based residents who increasingly seek quick, visa-friendly getaways.
The move also reaffirms Dubai’s role as a major origin market for Oman’s southern coast. Travel agencies in the UAE have long reported heavy demand for Salalah packages during the summer, with many residents opting to make the twelve-hour drive across the border due to limited flight availability and elevated seasonal fares. With direct air capacity returning, both Omani officials and regional tourism players are anticipating a sharp shift from road to air travel and a broader diversification of visitor profiles.
Khareef Season: From Niche Escape to Regional Magnet
For years, Salalah’s Khareef season, running from late June to late September, was considered a niche attraction. Today it is rapidly evolving into a flagship Gulf tourism product. The mist-draped mountains, cooler temperatures and temporary waterfalls created by the Indian Ocean monsoon have become a powerful draw for GCC residents seeking respite from extreme heat without long-haul travel.
Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority and national tourism planners have been steadily gearing up for this shift. In 2025, aviation authorities outlined a broad readiness plan for Dhofar, including ramped-up flight operations and coordination between airlines, airport operators and tourism bodies to manage peak flows. Oman Air itself has been aggressively expanding capacity on its core Muscat–Salalah trunk route, at times operating up to a dozen daily flights in peak periods and adding tens of thousands of extra seats to keep up with surging demand.
This backdrop makes the Dubai–Salalah service far more than a seasonal niche. It plugs directly into a maturing Khareef ecosystem that already includes expanded domestic air links, new routes from markets such as Russia and Iraq, and wider regional marketing of southern Oman as a nature escape. By allowing travelers to bypass Muscat altogether, the Dubai service aligns with a broader strategy to treat Salalah as a primary gateway rather than a secondary extension of the capital.
Oman Air’s Transformation Strategy Enters a New Phase
The Dubai–Salalah launch also comes as Oman Air pursues an ambitious transformation program aimed at restoring financial health and sharpening its competitive edge. Since 2023, the carrier has been overhauling its network, cost base and commercial strategy in a bid to reach financial breakeven in record time while maintaining service standards that match larger Gulf rivals.
Central to that transformation has been a focus on routes and markets that align tightly with Oman’s national tourism priorities. The airline has highlighted Salalah as one of the clearest success stories of this approach, reporting double-digit growth in capacity and passengers to the city over the past two years. It has also added charter operations from Moscow and is exploring further direct links from European cities, with projections that these initiatives could attract hundreds of thousands of additional visitors and generate hundreds of millions of Omani rials in tourism revenue by the end of the decade.
By reviving the Dubai–Salalah route at this juncture, Oman Air is capitalizing on an improving balance sheet and a clearer strategic focus. The service dovetails with the carrier’s recent push to sharpen its regional network, including a new Muscat–Taif link in Saudi Arabia and promotional fare campaigns across the Gulf. Analysts say such targeted regional expansion, built on markets with strong VFR (visiting friends and relatives) and leisure demand, is critical for the airline’s efforts to build sustainable profitability beyond its long-haul flagship routes.
Rewiring Gulf Tourism Flows in Record Time
The speed at which the new Dubai–Salalah connection is expected to reshape Gulf travel patterns reflects deeper structural changes in how the region holidays. A decade ago, many GCC residents looked primarily to Europe or Southeast Asia for summer escapes. Today, a growing share is opting for shorter, regional breaks that avoid long-haul fatigue, complex visas and high costs while still offering cooler weather and distinctive experiences.
In that context, the Dubai–Salalah link has the potential to transform tourism flows in a matter of seasons rather than years. Travel agents across the UAE and Oman are already preparing bundled packages built around the new route, combining flights with mid-range hotels, guided excursions to waterfalls and wadis, and family-oriented activities in and around Salalah. Many expect the non-stop connection to support a rise in three- and four-night itineraries, encouraging repeat visits and year-round travel rather than one-off, once-a-summer trips.
Oman’s tourism planners are also hopeful that the route will spur greater dispersion of visitors within Dhofar itself. Faster, more convenient access from Dubai is likely to bolster coastal resorts and city hotels, but it may also open up opportunities for smaller guesthouses, eco-lodges and adventure-tourism operators in the mountains and along the broader Dhofar coastline. If managed carefully, this could spread economic benefits beyond the urban core while reinforcing Oman’s stated focus on sustainable, nature-based tourism.
Competitive Pressures and Capacity Race Across the GCC
Oman Air’s move does not come in a vacuum. Across the Gulf, national and low-cost carriers are engaged in an intense competition to capture a growing market for short-haul leisure travel, particularly to destinations that offer relief from desert heat. In Oman, low-cost rival SalamAir has been aggressively expanding its Muscat–Salalah operations and offering fixed, discounted fares for Omani nationals during peak Khareef months, while other regional carriers have added new links into Salalah from cities such as Baghdad.
This capacity race has a dual effect. On one hand, it puts downward pressure on fares and encourages promotional campaigns, making travel to Dhofar more accessible for families and middle-income residents across the GCC. On the other, it raises the bar for service reliability, schedule coordination and airport infrastructure, particularly during peak weeks when demand can spike sharply. Oman’s aviation authorities have responded by coordinating closely with carriers on slot allocation, emergency planning and passenger handling to avoid bottlenecks that could dent the region’s reputation for smooth travel experiences.
For Oman Air, the Dubai–Salalah service serves as both a defensive and offensive play. It helps secure a share of a market that might otherwise flow entirely to competitors via indirect routes, while also enhancing the appeal of its wider network for travelers connecting through Dubai or Muscat. The challenge will be to calibrate capacity and pricing so that the new route contributes to, rather than dilutes, the airline’s broader financial turnaround efforts.
Economic Ripple Effects for Salalah and the Wider Region
The economic implications of stronger air links between Dubai and Salalah go well beyond hotel occupancy rates. Tourism has become a central pillar of Oman’s diversification agenda, particularly in Dhofar, where investment has flowed into roads, ports, urban infrastructure and hospitality assets designed to support year-round visitation. Each incremental flight brings not only tourists, but also potential investors, seasonal workers and small-business connections that can deepen economic ties between Oman and the UAE.
For local businesses in Salalah, from restaurant owners and tour operators to taxi drivers and craftspeople, the prospect of more frequent, predictable influxes of visitors from Dubai is especially welcome. Unlike charter-heavy or highly seasonal markets, the presence of scheduled three-times-weekly flights provides a level of planning certainty that can support hiring decisions, financing for expansions and year-round employment rather than purely seasonal work.
Regional economists note that the new route also plugs into a wider pattern of Gulf economic integration, particularly between Oman and the UAE. Enhanced connectivity tends to support cross-border trade, joint ventures in hospitality and real estate, and knowledge-sharing in sectors like sustainable tourism and cultural heritage management. As Gulf states push ahead with ambitious tourism and lifestyle projects, the Dhofar region’s growing profile as a nature-led destination offers a distinctive complement to the urban, megaproject-driven offerings found elsewhere in the GCC.
Opportunities and Risks in a Rapidly Growing Market
While the outlook for the Dubai–Salalah connection is broadly positive, tourism experts caution that fast growth must be matched by careful management. Khareef’s unique microclimate and fragile ecosystems can be vulnerable to overcrowding and environmental stress if visitor numbers outpace infrastructure and conservation efforts. Authorities in Oman have repeatedly emphasized the need for balanced development, coupling increased capacity with measures to protect natural sites and ensure that local communities share in the gains.
There are also operational risks to consider. Seasonal weather patterns, including fog and low visibility, can occasionally disrupt flights into Salalah, while surges in visitor numbers may test airport capacity and local transport networks. Oman Air and its partners will need to maintain flexible contingency planning and clear communication strategies to preserve traveler confidence, particularly as the new route attracts first-time visitors from Dubai who may have limited familiarity with Salalah’s conditions.
Still, the consensus among regional tourism and aviation observers is that the benefits substantially outweigh the risks. By aligning its Dubai–Salalah restart with a broader transformation strategy and a maturing regional tourism landscape, Oman Air is staking a strong claim on one of the Gulf’s most promising natural destinations. If current momentum continues, the new route could indeed help transform Gulf tourism in record time, turning what was once a niche monsoon escape into a mainstream fixture on the region’s travel calendar.