Manama: The Bahrain International Airport (BIA) has witnessed a surge of 25% in passenger movements in August compared to the same period last year.
Ministry of Transportation (MoT)’s Civil Aviation Affairs Director for Air Transport Ebtissam Al Shamlan said that the increase in August 2014 resulted in a total of 825,903 passengers travelling through the airport in August.
“The increase comes as a result of the Ministry’s increased efforts to provide services and better facilities for passengers.
In addition, national carrier Gulf Air has launched new destinations with connectivity to several new destinations, such as Trivandrum in India and Sialkot in Pakistan.
Gulf Air has also increased the number of its flights during the period to key airports in the GCC such as Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai International Airport, Doha, Kuwait, Jeddah and Riyadh. Its network was also expanded to include numerous other destinations in the Middle East such as Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.”
In addition, a number of new carriers newly launched regular services to Bahrain International Airport, including Pegasus Airlines, Zagros Airlines, and Taban Air, while other carriers resumed their operations to Bahrain such as Iran Air and Iraqi Airways. With high numbers of travelers during the summer period to major holiday destinations, many airlines witnessed higher numbers of passengers to these destinations.
Al Shamlan said that predictions indicate that the Airport will witness higher growth in passenger movements till the end of 2014, as a result of the Ministry’s modernization programs that will be implemented in the Airport in the near future.