Oman Air To Bring Up to 7,000 More Tourists Directly to Dhofar this Season with New Fun & Sun Partnership

Oman Air has entered into an exciting new partnership with leading tour operator Fun & Sun to operate a series of charter flights connecting Moscow and Salalah. The programme is expected to bring approximately 7,000 additional visitors to Salalah in its first season, further supporting the development of domestic tourism and contributing to increased economic activity in Dhofar. It is anticipated that strong demand will pave the way for the charter programme to be extended year-round.

Fun & Sun is an established and high-volume travel operator, and the collaboration builds on growing interest in Oman from the Russian market. Alongside the new charter operations, Oman Air continues to operate its scheduled service between Muscat and Moscow with up to nine flights per week, providing year-round connectivity for business and leisure travellers.

“We are pleased to partner with Fun & Sun, expanding access to Salalah from one of our fastest growing international markets. The charter programme complements our scheduled Muscat-Moscow service and highlights the appeal of Dhofar beyond the khareef season,” said Mike Rutter, Chief Commercial Officer of Oman Air.

“By focusing on point-to-point growth, we have been able to increase the number of passengers flying to and staying in Oman by over 50% since the beginning of our transformation. Over the next five years this change is expected to benefit Oman’s economy by up to OMR 90 Million per year in additional in-country spend. The expansion of direct flights from Europe to Salalah is another example of Oman Air’s commitment to delivering on Oman’s 2040 Vision agenda for tourism and increased GDP contribution from the aviation sector,” he added.

“We are thrilled to launch this partnership and are confident that Dhofar’s unique appeal will quickly make it a favourite destination for Russian travellers,” said Yaroslav Stepanyuk, Commercial Director at Fun & Sun.

The seasonal charter flights between Moscow and Salalah will operate between 26 December 2025 and 9 May 2026. Meanwhile, the airline, which flew more than 200,000 guests into Salalah during khareef’s peak period alone - a 15% increase over 2024 - continues to work closely with the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and Dhofar Municipality to promote the destination and support sustainable growth in domestic and inbound tourism.