Over the past six months, Gulf Air welcomed 2,798,131 passengers, a 39.7% spike compared to 2,001,890 in 2022, and handled 38300 tons of cargo, Meanwhile BIA welcomed 4,098,582 passengers, up 43.2% from 2,862,976 last year, and recorded 44,160 air traffic movements, a 19.8% increase from 36,869 in 2022. Cargo tonnage handled reached 177,070, a 6.34% drop from 189,060 the previous year.,
Gulf Air CEO Captain Waleed Al Alawi said: “Our H1 growth comes on the back of efforts to further develop our extensive network by adding 7 new destinations and resuming popular routes as part of our successful summer campaign. Served by our modern fleet of 34 aircraft, our routes to Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; Goa, India; Mykonos, Greece; Nice, France; Bodrum, Turkey; and Malaga, Spain, to name a few, have proven incredibly popular. We look forward to building on our performance, cementing Bahrain’s position as a leading tourism destination, and showcasing the Kingdom’s renowned hospitality to the world.”
Gulf Air also received industry acclaim for its business acumen. Working in collaboration with Castlelake, a global alternative investment firm, the national carrier was presented with the ‘Innovative Deal of the Year’ award at the Air Finance Journal Global Awards. The award was for a deal secured by the two parties to finance the purchase of 10 Airbus A321neo aircraft through Pre-Delivery Payment (PDP) financing.
BAC Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah said: “Delivering excellent customer service while further enhancing air connectivity and route development are major areas of focus at BIA. Working alongside our partners, we are making steady progress towards achieving our strategic goals, as can be seen from the uptick in passengers and air traffic movements at the airport during the first half of 2023.”
He added: “This year, we have welcomed 6 new carriers, including SCAT Airlines, and Azerbaijan Airlines and added 8 new destinations, demonstrating our commitment to connecting Bahrain with the world. Moreover, we have received many prestigious global aviation industry recognitions in 2023, which reflect the hard work and professionalism of our team.”
Many of the aviation industry’s major players have recognized BIA’s commitment to delivering a safe, sustainable, and convenient travel experience this year. BIA was honored with the Airports Council International (ACI) Green Airports Recognition 2023 Silver Award for airports serving eight to 15 million passengers annually, and a certificate marking its upgrade to Level 4 ‘Transformation’ of the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation program.
Tags: Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, Bahrain International Airport (BIA), Gulf Air, Captain Waleed Al Alawi
