Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport (IATA: BAH, ICAO: OBBI) (Arabic: مطار البحرين الدولي, romanized: Maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī) is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama and the city Al Muharraq, it serves as the hub for the national carrier Gulf Air. The airport is managed by the Bahrain Airport Company. Established in 1927, it is the Persian Gulf's oldest international airport.

Bahrain International Airport مطار البحرين الدولي Maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī
IATA: BAH ICAO: OBBI
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Bahrain Airport Company
Serves	Bahrain
Location	Al Muharraq
Opened	1927; 97 years ago (1927)
Hub for	Gulf Air Kalitta Air SNAS/DHL Texel Air
Elevation AMSL	8 ft / 2.4 m
Coordinates	26°16′15″N 050°38′01″E / 26.27083°N 50.63361°E / 26.27083; 50.63361
Website	www.bahrainairport.bh
Maps
BAH/OBBI Location in Al Muharraq, Bahrain Show map of Bahrain BAH/OBBI BAH/OBBI (Asia) Show map of Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 12L/30R 3,964 13,005 Asphalt 12R/30L 2,530 8,301 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 9,578,797 Passenger change 18-19 5% Aircraft movements 95,486 Movements change 18-19 1% Cargo (MT) 291,017 Cargo change 18-19 1%
Source: Statistics from Bahrain Airport 2019^[1]

History

Origins

The origins of Bahrain's international airport dates to 1927 when a chartered flight to Bahrain landed.^[2] The first scheduled commercial airliner to arrive in Bahrain, in 1932, was a flight from London to Delhi operated on a Handley Page H.P.42 aircraft named Hannibal. The H.P.42 carried only 24 passengers, and the flight from London had taken several days of flying at speeds of 100 miles per hour. Through this regularly scheduled service, Bahrain became established as one of the Persian Gulf's first international airports.^[3]

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command Central African Wing, being designated as Station # 13. It functioned as a stopover en route to Abadan Airport, Iran or Sharjah Airport, in present-day UAE on the Karachi-Cairo route.^[4] From 1943 until Bahrain's independence in December 1971, the Royal Air Force maintained a military installation at the airfield known initially as RAF Bahrain and from 1963 as RAF Muharraq.^[5][6] The majority of these facilities were later acquired by the Bahraini flag carrier airline, Gulf Air, while a small portion continues to be utilized by the U.S. Navy as Aviation Support Unit (ASU) Bahrain.^{[citation needed]}

20th century

In 1936, the operation of H.P.42 aircraft from London to India via Bahrain had been stepped up to a twice-weekly frequency. In 1937, Bahrain saw the regular service of the Empire sea planes. The landing strip of these giants on the water was from where the marina club is located in Mina Salman today. From the 1950s, BOAC operated several services a week through Bahrain. These included weekly services to Karachi, Singapore, Hong Kong and three times a week to Sydney. 1950 was a significant year not only for Muharraq as an international airport, but also for Bahrain's own commercial aviation history. In this year, a new local airline, Gulf Aviation Company, was formed – the forerunner of Gulf Air. The company started with only one aircraft, a second-hand Anson Mark II, which was used initially on services to Dhahran. However, within two years, the fleet had expanded to four de Havilland aircraft and DC-3s for use on a steadily growing network in the Persian Gulf. This established Bahrain as an international stage. It was easily the most modern and advanced airport in the Persian Gulf with a good runway, control tower, lighting, communication facilities and even restaurants. It began to attract other carriers such as Middle East Airlines, Air India, Air Ceylon and Iran Air – mostly operating Dakotas. In December 1961, a new passenger terminal opened at the airport. During 1970–1971, RAF Muharraq was scaled back and eventually closed. In December 1971, the airport opened new passenger facilities, which included a wide area that could accommodate four 747 aircraft. In 1976, the airport marked another significant first with the inauguration of supersonic flights, which saw the start up of regular BA Concorde service between London and Bahrain.^[7] Pan Am introduced direct flights to New York in December 1976. It operated the route with Boeing 747SPs.^[8]

In the 1980s and 1990s, major facelifts took place and several major airline companies made the airport a destination. In 1994, a US$100 million terminal was inaugurated which boosted the airport's maximum capacity to 10 million passengers a year.^[7] In July 1994, Gulf Air started nonstop service to New York on Airbus A340s. Due to the length of the route, westbound flights occasionally had to make a refuelling stop.^[9][10]

21st century expansion

In 2008, the airport was placed under management of the newly created Bahrain Airport Company, which falls under the umbrella of the Gulf Air Holding Company, which in turn is owned by Mumtalakat, Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund.^[11] On 8 October 2009, it was announced that BHD 1.8 billion expansion of Bahrain International Airport will start in 2010. The expansion, planned over the next 30 years, will triple the passenger capacity to 27 million a year.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2010, United Airlines began service to Washington, D.C., via Kuwait. The carrier flew the route with a Boeing 777.^[12] United left Bahrain in January 2016.^[13]

Facilities

Terminal

 

The airport's new terminal building, in April 2024.

The airport's new $1.1 billion terminal opened on 28 January 2021.^[14] At 210,000 square meters, the Passenger Terminal increases Bahrain International Airport's (BIA) capacity to 14 million passengers and 130,000 air traffic movements per year with a handling capacity of 4,700 bags per peak hour.^[15] The new terminal cost 1.1 billion USD. The terminal features check-in halls, check-in desks, passport control booths, E-gates, security lanes, a 9,000 sqm duty-free retail space, lounges, food and beverage zones, 24 departure gates, and 7,000 new parking spaces both at-grade and in multi-story facilities.

Cargo

Through the airport's 25,000 sqm Cargo Terminal, a wide range of services are offered, including export cargo sales, transshipment, inter-airport trucking, and customs clearance. Bahrain is also the regional hub for DHL Aviation. With 115 weekly flights, and 250 vehicles, DHL operates an integrated air and land network. Other cargo and logistics companies operating out of the airport include FedEx, TNT Express, Aramex, and Global Logistical Services (GLS).^{[citation needed]}

Ground Handling

Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) provides airport services at Bahrain International Airport (BIA). Supported by a 3,000-strong staff, BAS is an ISAGO accredited Ground Service Provider. Overseeing the Kingdom's oil, gas, and petroleum assets, Bahrain Jet Fuel Company (BJFCO) is a joint-venture between Bahrain Airport Company and the nogaholding. BJFCO is currently constructing a fuel farm complex in the northeastern area of the airport as part of a major restructuring of the Kingdom's aviation fueling industry.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Refs
Air Arabia	Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Sharjah
Air India	Delhi
Air India Express	Delhi,^[16] Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram	^[17]
AJet	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku
British Airways	London–Heathrow
Egyptair	Cairo
Emirates	Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa	^[18]
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi
flydubai	Dubai–International
Flynas	Riyadh
Gulf Air	Abu Dhabi, Amman–Queen Alia, Athens, Baku,^[19] Bangalore, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bodrum,^[20] Cairo, Casablanca,^[19] Chennai, Colombo–Bandaranaike,^[21] Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha,^[22] Dubai–International, Faisalabad,^[23] Frankfurt, Gassim, Goa–Dabolim,^[24] Guangzhou (begins 29 May 2024),^[25] Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Karachi, Kochi, Kozhikode,^[19] Kuwait City, Lahore, Larnaca, London–Heathrow, Malé,^[26] Manchester,^[27] Manila, Medina, Milan–Malpensa,^[28] Moscow–Domodedovo, Multan,^[23] Mumbai, Munich (begins 1 July 2024),^[29] Muscat, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Peshawar, Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino,^[28] Shanghai–Pudong (begins 28 May 2024),^[30] Sialkot, Singapore,^[31] Tbilisi,^[32] Tel Aviv (suspended),^[33] Thiruvananthapuram Seasonal: Alexandria,^[34] Al Ula,^[35] Geneva (resumes 4 June 2024),^[36] Malaga, Mykonos,^[37] Nice,^[28] Rhodes (begins 1 June 2024),^[38] Salalah, Santorini,^[37] Sharm El Sheikh^[34] Seasonal charter: Sarajevo,^[39] Sochi (begins 3 June 2024),^[40] Tirana,^[41] Trabzon
IndiGo	Kochi,^[42] Mumbai^[43]
Jazeera Airways	Kuwait City
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait City
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Riyadh
Oman Air	Muscat
Pakistan International Airlines	Lahore	^[44]
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen Seasonal: Trabzon
Qatar Airways	Doha	^[22]
Red Wings Airlines	Sochi	^[45]
Royal Jordanian	Amman–Queen Alia	^[46]
SalamAir	Muscat, Salalah	^[47]
Saudia	Jeddah, Riyadh
Smartwings	Seasonal Charter: Bratislava	^[48]
Southwind Airlines	Seasonal Charter: Antalya, Trabzon	^[49]
SunExpress	Charter: Antalya, Bursa, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Trabzon	^[50]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul, Trabzon

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
AeroLogic^[51]	Frankfurt, Leipzig/Halle, Singapore
Cargolux^[52]	Luxembourg
DHL Aviation^[53]^[better source needed]	Abu Dhabi, Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Baghdad, Bangalore, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Brussels, Cairo, Cincinnati, Dubai–International, Hong Kong, Istanbul,^[54] Jeddah, Kandahar, Karachi, Kuwait City, Lahore, Liège, New York–JFK, Sharjah
Emirates SkyCargo^[55]	Dubai–Al Maktoum
Lufthansa Cargo^[56]	Frankfurt
Qatar Airways Cargo^[57]	Doha
SpiceXpress^[58]	Delhi
Turkish Cargo^[59]	Istanbul

Statistics

Traffic figures

Annual passenger traffic at BAH airport. See Wikidata query.

Traffic by calendar year, official ACI statistics

	Passengers	Change from previous year	Aircraft operations	Change from previous year	Cargo (metric tons)	Change from previous year
2005	5,581,503	8.50%	73,891	1.88%	334,832	10.91%
2006	6,696,025	19.97%	80,538	9.00%	357,277	6.70%
2007	7,320,039	9.32%	87,417	8.54%	385,278	7.84%
2008	8,758,068	19.65%	101,203	17.77%	369,822	4.01%
2009	9,053,631	3.37%	103,727	2.49%	342,734	7.32%
2010	8,898,197	1.72%	106,355	2.53%	329,937	3.73%
2011	7,793,527	12.41%	102,068	4.03%	292,147	11.45%
2012	8,479,266	8.80%	105,931	3.78%	262,386	10.19%
2013	7,371,651	13.06%	90,837	14.25%	245,146	6.57%
2014	8,102,502	9.91%	96,193	5.90%	276,390	12.75%
2015	8,586,645	5.97%	100,625	4.61%	256,408	7.23%
2016	8,766,151	2.09%	101,345	0.72%	263,956	2.94%
2017	8,477,331	3%	95,966	5%	289,331	10%
2018	9,082,707	7%	96,030	0%	288,235	0%
2019	9,578,797	5%	95,486	1%	291,017	1%
Source: Airports Council International, World Airport Traffic Reports & Bahrain's Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) Annual Reports. (years 2005,^[60] 2006,^[61] 2007,^[62] 2009,^[63] 2011,^[64] 2012,^[65] 2013,^[66] 2014,^[67] 2015,^[68] 2016,^[69] 2017^[70] 2018,^[71] and 2019^[1])

Busiest routes

Busiest routes at Bahrain International Airport (by number of flights weekly)

Rank	City	Country	Number of flights
1	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	104
2	Doha	Qatar	57
3	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	54
4	Kuwait City	Kuwait	52
5	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	47
6	Istanbul	Turkey	35
7	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	30
8	Dammam	Saudi Arabia	28
9	Muscat	Oman	26
10	Cairo	Egypt	23
11	London, Mumbai, Sharjah	United Kingdom,   India,   United Arab Emirates	21
12	Amman, Delhi	Jordan,   India	20
13	Kochi	India	17
14	Kozhikode	India	14
15	Chennai	India	10

Ground transportation

The airport is situated in central Muharraq and has transportation connections with the capital city Manama through the Airport Avenue roadway and Shaikh Isa Causeway. Bahrain International Airport is served 24/7 by several taxi operators. Bahrain Public Transport Company (BPTC) provides buses.

Accidents and incidents

• On 12 June 1950, An Air France Douglas DC-4 crashed 5.5km (3.4mls) into the sea SE of Bahrain because the pilot did not keep an accurate check of his altitude and rate of descent during the approach, allowing the aircraft to impact the sea. Pilot fatigue also may have played a factor. Forty-six out of the 52 passengers and crew were killed.^[72]
• On 14 June 1950, just two days later, an Air France Douglas DC-4 flying the same leg crashed again into the sea at night SE of Bahrain because of similar errors on approach two days prior. Also BAH lacked radio landing aids and suitable runway approach lights. Forty out the 53 passengers and crew died.^[73]
• On 9 September 1970, British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 7755, a Vickers VC10, flying from Bombay (now Mumbai) to London via Bahrain and Beirut was hijacked after departing Bahrain and forcibly landed at Dawson's Field in Jordan. The hijacking was done by a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine sympathizer who wanted to influence the British government to free Leila Khaled.^[74]
• In August 2000, a Gulf Air Airbus 320 (Gulf Air Flight 072) from Cairo crashed when landing at the airport. All 135 passengers and 8 crew died.
• In August 2017, an American F-18 fighter jet crash landed at the airport, with the pilot safely ejecting.^[75]

See also

• List of airports in Bahrain
• Transport in Bahrain
• List of the busiest airports in the Middle East

References

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External links

  Media related to Bahrain International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website