Oman Airports said on September 14 it will open a new direct route from Muscat to Beijing on November 30, 2025, operated by China Eastern Airlines, as the Gulf state steps up efforts to attract Chinese tourists and deepen trade links with Asia’s largest economy.
The twice-weekly service is part of Muscat’s wider strategy to cement its role as a regional hub and to diversify an economy long reliant on hydrocarbons.
Flights will run on Sundays and Wednesdays using an Airbus A330-300 with nearly 300 seats. Oman Airports called the link “a strategic bridge” that will cut journey times for business travellers and tourists, while giving Chinese investors easier access to projects under Oman’s Vision 2040 diversification plan.
Tourism is seen as one of the main winners. Oman welcomed about 160,000 Chinese visitors in 2019 before the pandemic, according to official figures, but numbers have struggled to recover. Industry executives expect the direct service to lift hotel occupancy and package bookings, as well as spur demand in transport and retail.
The air corridor will open as Oman presses ahead with multi-billion-dollar investments in ports, free zones and tourism resorts aimed at lifting non-oil revenue to 90% of GDP by 2040. A
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