Oman's Salam Air launch delayed

Oman's first budget airline Salam Air has reportedly revised it launch plans with passenger flights now set to begin on January 30, 2017.

The low-cost airline, which had previously announced it would start flights in mid-to-late December, said that its initial route will be Muscat-Salalah with international flights to Dubai International to follow later, Arabian Business reported.

In October it was reported that Salam Air would start operations with flights to Salalah, Dubai and Jeddah.

It was also announced that François Bouteiller would be the airline's launch CEO after previously heading Flynas, the Saudi low-cost carrier.

The airline aims to cater to the sultanate’s traffic demand which is expected to grow by 40% by 2019, a statement said.

Salam Air has leased three Airbus A320s from South American-based carrier LATAM ahead of its launch.

Salam Air is owned by the Muscat National Development and Investment Company (ASAAS) which won a government tender in January.

Founded in 2014, ASAAS is a partnership between the State General Reserve Fund, Muscat Municipality, and various pension funds.