Manama: Passenger traffic at Bahrain International Airport during the first half of the year has increased by six per cent compared with the same period last year, the Acting Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation has said.
“The total number of passengers in the period January-July 2014 was 4,586,281,” Ahmad Al Nemah said.
In July, a growth of 11 per cent in passenger traffic was recorded, in comparison with the previous year.
In terms of other activities at the airport, there was also an increase in aircraft movements by six per cent during the first half of the year, while departing passengers increased by nine per cent during the same period compared with January- June 2013.
“These positive half-year results are very encouraging for Bahrain International Airport, and we are expecting further increases this year compared to previous years,” Al Nemah said.
New routes
“The increase is largely attributable to national carrier Gulf Air’s introduction of more frequent routes to key Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) airports, as well the introduction of some new routes to numerous international destinations. In addition, several airlines have newly launched flights to Bahrain during the first half of the year, including Pegasus from Turkey, and numerous international airlines have increased the number of their flights coming to Bahrain. We have also seen increasing numbers of passengers from Bahrain going to major international tourism destinations, which has led to the positive growth.”
During the first half of the year, Bahrain also hosted several international events, including the Third Bahrain International Airshow and the Gulf Air Grand Prix Formula One, both of which played a major role in attracting more visitors to Bahrain from around the world.
Al Nemah said that he looked forward to continued growth during the second half of 2014, with total passenger numbers expected to reach eight million passengers by the end of the year.
