It is important to understand for every civil aviation authority that they have to develop a system with an operating environment so that things can be kept on right track, and the system can work as per given regulations, which are necessary to follow rules of safety and security. If macro environmental forces are coming with various issues and obstacles, then it becomes hard for any civil aviation authority to work well and comply with international standards of safety and security. The operating environment must provide enough breathing space with a strategic direction having enough rules and regulations to support the civil aviation system. If macro environmental forces are not in favor of civil aviation system, then it is more likely that the system will face many issues, and these issues will create problems in the handling of civil aviation operations. Here it is important to have a look at PESTEL analysis for civil aviation system for Oman that what factors are crucial for their proper delivery of operations.

PESTEL Analysis

            In the operating environment, the civil aviation system has to look at various political, economic, social, legal, technological, and environmental factors, which have their significant impact on the operations and delivery of civil aviation system.

Political

            The airline industry works under the guideline and rules instructed by Oman’s civil aviation system developed by PACA. There are various important political factors that how things will be handled politically. The safety of passengers as well as airports is the most critical part of the PACA’s regulations. So, political decisions are made by the government instructed through PACA that how airlines will be allowed, and for what reasons. There might be few airlines prohibited to fly to Oman by Oman government due to lack of essential safety and security standards, and few of them may be allowed to land on all airports of Sultanate of Oman.

Economical

            It is important to mention here that Oman’s economy is one of the better and growing ones in the Middle East. The facts showed that Oman is leading in terms of economic growth and keeping ahead in this race of many countries of the world. The economic risks are not at the highest level, which means that its economic conditions are good enough to maintain good order or its civil aviation system. The country has enough resources and economic means to continue its move as a developed country having good enough civil aviation system to comply with any kind of international air safety and security standards. The wave of terrorism across the world has made it indispensable for civil aviation system of Oman to make sure that its air and land operations related to air travel are safe and secure.

Social

            It is important to see that how social factors may impact Oman’s civil aviation system. There was a time when air travel was not affordable for masses, and people traveling on air transport were less in numbers. But as the society of Oman has been growing as a developed country, now people have more financial resources. That’s why it has been observed that air travel passengers are increasing with the passage of time. The civil aviation system has facilitated airlines and airports with great facilities, which has increased the number of passengers, and as per the data revealed in 2017, 8.542m passengers traveled from Oman. This is 10.9% as compared to the previous year of 2016 (Times of Oman, 2017)

Technological

            The good thing about Oman’s civil aviation system is that they have understood the importance of technology and its role in developing a great civil aviation system so that things can be maintained with good standards. PACA’s role has been instrumental in this regard as the authority has been making its mark in using technology in infrastructure as well as all other matters to come up with state of the art civil aviation system, which has the capacity to deal with any situations. The air traffic control towers developed by PACA are state of the art in terms of structure and technology, as they use the latest equipment meeting all international standards. The technology has been included in all operations to comply with rules given by ICAO (Paca.gov, 2018)

Environmental

            It is a fact that when the government of any country is serious regarding environmental issues and matters, then all relevant authorities work to comply with regulations provided by the government. The good thing about Sultanate of Oman is that they have shown concern about environmental issues like climate change and global warming. The facts have shown that Oman has been ahead of the Arab world in this regard. The seriousness about the environment can be seen by the fact that Oman was the 1st nation in the Arab world in 1982 to develop a detailed environmental policy. In 1984, the country was also the first one in establishing an Environmental ministry. Oman has developed laws, which prohibits air pollution and some laws impose penalties as well (Bodetti, 2018)

            Oman's civil aviation system has well enough legal parameters to make sure that air safety and security is not compromised in any given circumstances. PACA has developed well enough legal guidelines which allow airline companies to understand that what they have to follow when they fly to Oman. One of the recent technology is flying gadgets like drone cameras etc. As per the rules set by a civil aviation authority of Oman, if anyone would fly a drone in the air of Oman’s territory will be sent to jail for three years. Before flying any drones, the concern ones have to get necessary approvals. It shows how Oman's civil aviation system is legally sensitive to the matters of air safety and security (Times News Service, 2018)

References of Appraisal of the Operating Environment of Sultanate of Oman Civil Aviation System

Bodetti, A. (2018). A green future: Oman blazes a trail for environmentalism in the Arab world. Retrieved January 9, 2019, from https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2018/12/12/oman-blazes-trail-for-environmentalism-in-the-arab-world

Daily FT. (2013). Importance of civil aviation for economy and people. Retrieved January 8, 2019, from http://www.ft.lk/article/225396/Importance-of-civil-aviation-for-economy-and-people

PACA. (2019). About PACA. Retrieved January 8, 2019, from https://www.paca.gov.om/paca/about-paca

Paca.gov. (2018). The Sultanate of Oman Celebrated International Civil Aviation Day on 7 December at Muscat International Airport—A Place of Pride and Honour for the Sultanate at the Regional. Retrieved January 9, 2019, from https://www.paca.gov.om/media-1/news/2018/sultanate-of-oman-celebrates-international-civil-aviation-day-7-december-muscat-international-airport-a-place-of-pride-and-honor-for-the-sultanate-at-the-regional-and-global-level

Paca.gov.om. (2019). Mission, Vision & Values. Retrieved January 8, 2019, from https://www.paca.gov.om/paca/mission-vision-values

Times News Service. (2018). Legal nod needed to fly drones in Oman. Retrieved January 9, 2019, from https://timesofoman.com/article/126130

Times of Oman. (2017). Oman Air carried more than 8.5m passengers. Retrieved January 8, 2019, from https://timesofoman.com/article/125019