Muharraq, Bahrain: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: Gulf Air Group on Wednesday in a statement said that its passenger volume increased by 8.5 per cent to 3.1 million in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period last year. Capacity grew to more than 4.3 million, while passenger load factor rose to 77.9 per cent and cargo traffic increased by 3.5 per cent to 41,000 tons.
Gulf Air Group has reported a robust first half-year statistics for Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and regulator of the Bahrain International Airport, for 2024. The performance in the first half of the year was marked by an increase in passenger numbers, travel volume and cargo traffic.
The airline strengthened its Asia-Pacific and European network with new flights to Guangzhou and Shanghai in China, and Munich in Germany, establishing additional connectivity with Bahrain.
Furthermore, the airline resumed flights to the cities of Baghdad and Najaf in Iraq, increased frequencies to the Qatari capital of Doha, and the Omani capital of Muscat, in addition to Manchester in the United Kingdom, and Milan and Rome in Italy, and launched new seasonal destinations to Alula in Saudi Arabia, Geneva in Switzerland, and Rhodes in Greece.
In terms of overall passenger statistics in Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) reported a 13.2 per cent increase in passenger volume to 4.6 million in the first half of 2024, as well as a 9.4 per cent rise in air traffic movements to over 48,000. Cargo operations saw an increase of 7.19 per cent to 189,799 tonnes compared to the first half of 2023.
As for new airlines, Bahrain Airport Company welcomed Fly Jinnah (Pakistan’s leading low-cost carrier) which began flights from Islamabad to Bahrain in July.
