Seeb International is one of the most laid-back airports I know. Although it's small and outdated (a new terminal is under construction), it's so easy to use that I always look forward to dealing with it, whether arriving or departing. Don't expect the glitz of Dubai or Riyadh, however.

Arrivals:
For first time visitors, arrival here is a bit odd: there are no jetways, so you have to walk down a stairway and board a bus, which takes you to arrivals. The blast of hot - and often humid - air may hit you in the face pretty hard. And there may well be a bit of jostling to get on and off the bus. Passengers who know the ropes, rush into the building to get to immigration as quickly as possible.

If you're arriving for the first time as a tourist without a visa, there's a desk on the left where you must stop. If you're holding a visa carry on past that and turn right. Immigration is smooth, if a little slow sometimes, for Omanis like to chat. Once through, it's a fairly short walk - maybe 50 meters at most - to the three luggage carrousels. On the way there's a small duty-free kiosk where you can buy a couple bottles of wine or spirits - drinks are pricey in hotel bars. Pick up your bags, and head for customs. Place them on the belt through the x-rays, and pick them up on the other side. Chances are the officials will just wave them back onto your trolley. They rarely open anything.

Now go around a barrier, through the automatic doors and into the smallish arrivals area. There are car rental desks on the right and there's even a kiosk for Omantel where you can pick up a SIMM card for your GSM. From there it would be a pit stop at the bank, then outside, into the heat and into a cab. There are no buses or other public transport. Be warned that as yet taxis here are not metered, so they'll try to get as much out of you as they can. And remember that the Omani rial is the equivalent of US $2.58, so a mere 10 rials is worth more than you think.

Departures:
Grab a luggage trolley if you can. This can be problematic if you're arriving between 21:00 and 01:00, when it's very busy. Go inside, through security. Oman Air, Gulf Air, and Emirates are the three main carriers, but KLM, BA, and Lufthansa also serve Seeb International. Expect a bit of a rugby scrum if there are lots of flights to the Subcontinent at the time. Check-in can be a trifle slow, to be honest. Anyway, boarding pass in hand, turn right, and go to the departures exit.

Inside departures, the business class lounge is just to the right of the escalator to the Duty Free Shop and main lounge, although there is a small snack bar on the ground floor with seating. Duty free is not the biggest, but it's got good stuff. Cigarettes are about $14 a carton. Typically for the Gulf, there's plenty of gold and perfume on offer. In addition, there's a Costa Coffee bar as well as a gift shop.

There are only about eight, maybe nine, "gates". Head to yours, line up for the boarding pass check, and wait. Once the flight has been called, you walk down the steps to the ground floor again and wait for the bus to your aircraft.

Anyway, because there are so few operations here, it's a great place to fly through. Connections might be another matter because there's not that much to do air-side. There is a bar, but that's about it. Oh, there are Wi-Fi hotspots, however.