Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport is a key hub airport in the region, providing a gateway to the Northern Gulf. Airport is the major hub for Gulf Air which provides 52% of overall movements and operates 377 weekly international services. 35 other international airlines including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, KLM and Lufthansa operate a total of 349 services per week to a total of 52 destinations.
In 2006, The Airport witnessed a tremendous growth of 20% accounting for 6.7 million passengers while aircraft movement also increased by 11% to 81,789. Cargo tonnage has also dramatically increased with a growth of 7% reaching 358, 670 tonnes.
In addition to being the fastest growing cargo hub in the region with a number of international carriers such as Britsh Airway Cargo, Air France Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo together with established operators such as MartinAir, the airport is both the Middle East Regional Distribution Centre and a designated “super-hub” for DHL’s worldwide network whose services not only include significant operations to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq but also a major regional hub for distribution by air and surface including transcauseway trucking services to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Over 3 million tonnes of cargo crosses the causeway annually.Terminal facilities are under constant review and improvement. Recent developments include a unique separate First and Business Class Check-In Lounge providing specialized services for premium passengers with discrete check-in and immigration facilities and direct access to the Departures Lounge. A new award winning 1,000 m² First and Business Class Lounge was also opened for Gulf Air. Located on an upper level overlooking the main apron , the lounge offers an exclusive concept of waiter service ,a separate family room and electronic video games room for children. A further two new high tech airline lounges 200 m² and 700 m² in size respectively(double the size of existing lounges) were opened in 2005. The first for Cathay Pacific and a new Dilmun Lounge( for other airlines handled by Bahrain Airport Services) which include the latest wi-fi technology permitting free internet access. Our new Arrivals Immigration facilities and streamlined processing now enables large numbers of visitors ( either individually or in groups) to be handled without delay or congestion as has been successfully demonstrated for the annual Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix event.Top quality duty free shopping is available both on arrival in an expanded shop complementing the award winning unique shopping mall in the Departures Lounge. New car parks have been recently constructed to cater specifically for the needs of our long term “frequent flyer” passengers and we are looking to provide further improved services for them including shaded parking and valet services.Future plans include a major US$ 350m expansion of the terminal building to the east to provide 8 additional air bridges and additional aircraft parking stands raising the airport capacity initially to 15m per annum by 2015 with provision for a second phase expansion increasing capacity to 22m by 2020. New check-in desks (doubling the current number), additional shopping facilities as well as an increased baggage make-up area (double the size of the existing area) and separate baggage reclaim area together with a distinctive new façade are all included in the initial design. Plans for a new US $ 70m multi-storey car park project that would not only provide additional parking but also provide offices and retail areas linked to the main terminal building are also being finalised. An airport is a dynamic environment and our objective is to continue to provide both our passengers and our partner airlines with the very latest up-to-date facilities and above all a warm and friendly and professional service by our Bahraini staff, something which we are justifiably proud of. Our airport is both a shop & window to the world and the first and last impression a visitor has to our country. We believe therefore that the provision of these high quality facilities coupled with high standards of service and competitive pricing make our airport both an attractive hub and gateway. This has been recognised by major carriers such as British Airways and Cathay Pacific in awarding us “best airport” honours on their respective networks.