Oman Airports organized The FODWalk awareness campaign on the safety of airside operations of Muscat International Airport yesterday. The participants from the airport stakeholders including, but not limited, Oman Airports, Oman Air, Oman Aviation Services Company, airport’s partners, media professionals, journalists, and social media influencers, attended the event in the belief of the importance of such awareness campaigns for passengers' safety.
Saud bin Nasser Al-Hubeishi, A.SVP Muscat International Airport of Oman Airports, stated that the awareness campaign to remove foreign objects debris (FOD) from the airside yard of Muscat International Airport (FOD Walk) is part of Oman Airports' efforts to raise awareness among all employees and partners of the need to remove any FOD that would endanger aircraft movement and maneuvering.
"As part of its operational responsibility for the airports of Oman, Oman Airports is always striving to raise awareness of all matters related to the airport sector. Different types of debris may be there in the airside yard because of the increasing traffic witnessed at Muscat International Airport. Therefore, we have to raise the awareness of the staff, strategic partners, and airport users of the importance of removing and cleaning the airside yard of any materials that constitute an obstacle to aircraft landing and takeoff," added Al-Hubeishi.
"We also aim to inform passengers of the seriousness of these materials in the airside yard and therefore all stakeholders must cooperate to remove all these wastes that threaten the safety of aviation," concluded the A.SVP Muscat International Airport of Oman Airports.
Oman Airports is keen to carry out periodical campaigns to remove debris from the airside yards in the airports of the Sultanate to ensure the safety and security of aircraft and personnel in all airports under its supervision. Moreover, it implements awareness campaigns to raise awareness of the danger of the presence of these objects on the airside yard and the need to secure they are free from any objects that can affect the movement of aviation and the safety of passengers and users of the airport. It is an annual event at all airports in the world and in line with the Oman Airports' strategy to raise Muscat International Airport's ranking to the top 20 in the world by 2020.
The foreign objects debris (FOD) include operational waste on the airside yard that may damage aircraft engines when taken from above the ground into the engine or aircraft tires when aircraft moves on runway during landing or takeoff. Their presence in the airside yard costs the aviation industry US$ 13 billion per year in direct and indirect costs. Indirect costs are 10 times the direct costs, such as delay and transfer of trips, fuel costs incurred by unplanned maintenance, in addition to considerable damage to aircraft and personnel.
It is noteworthy that the number of passengers traveling through Muscat International Airport until the end of September, including arrivals, departures and transit, increased to 11,419,791.
The number of international flights through Muscat International Airport until the end of September reached 80,246, a rise of 6.9% compared to the same period in 2017.
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