Oman takes a close look at Ruag's Dornier 228

The demo tour was organized by Ruag Aviation in partnership with the Aflag Group which was introducing the turboprop to the region. The event was hosted by Philippe Erni, Ruag aviation director of sales and Sheikh Khalid Al Khalili, Aflag Group chairman
The Dornier 228 is currently deployed in a number of different roles worldwide including special mission aircraft for maritime and border patrol, pollution monitoring, military utility and training and ihas been mission-proven in the USA as a sightseeing aircraft for tourism in the Grand Canyon and other areas.
Sheikh Khalid, said, "It is with much pleasure that we welcome the new Dornier 228 to Oman, a next generation version of the iconic aircraft that was successfully operated by DG Police Aviation for over two decades.”
The 19-seater Dornier 228 has a number of distinct features like high payload transport, special mission sensor platform, renowned short-field performance, hot and high performance and operability from unprepared airfields.
"Ruag is owned by the Swiss government and the Dornier 228 is manufactured by its subsidiary in Germany said Philippe Erni .
"No other aircraft can perform surveillance flights more efficiently than the Dornier 228. The borders of the Sultanate and the EEZ can be supervised in the most cost-efficient ways" he said.
Ruag is also touting the 228 as an ideal training aircraft for transport pilots. “With its state-of-the-art cockpit, young pilots learn to handle a modern glass cockpit and the Flight Management System, as well as crew coordination,” Erni said..
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Shaikh Khalid talked about the tourism potential, "The Dornier 228 would complement the development of a new tourism sector with scenic flights in Oman whilst creating top engineering and management jobs. Furthermore, the passenger version can link the airports of the Sultanate in a hub-and-spoke system (with Muscat and Salalah being the hubs) and creating jobs all over the country,” he said.

Photo: Aflag group chairman Sheikh Khalid Al Khalili, welcomes the Dornier 228 to Oman