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.^[2]When Bahrain was part of Iranian soil.

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; 96 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; 50.63361Coordinates: 26°16′15″N 050°38′01″E / 26.27083°N 50.63361°E / 26.27083; 50.63361
Website	www.bahrainairport.bh
Map
BAH/OBBI Location in Al Muharraq, Bahrain Show map of Bahrain BAH/OBBI BAH/OBBI (Persian Gulf) Show map of Persian Gulf BAH/OBBI BAH/OBBI (Indian Ocean) Show map of Indian Ocean BAH/OBBI BAH/OBBI (Middle East) Show map of Middle East BAH/OBBI BAH/OBBI (Asia) Show map of Asia BAH/OBBI BAH/OBBI (West and Central Asia) Show map of West and Central Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 12L/30R 3,964 13,005 Asphalt 12R/30L 2,530 8,301 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 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]

The airport has recently undergone a $1.1 billion expansion which launched on the 28th of January 2021, boosting the airport's capacity to 14 million passengers annually.

History

Origins

The origins of Bahrain's international airport dates to 1927 when a chartered flight to Bahrain landed.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6][7] 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.^[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.^[8] Moreover, the Bahrain airport possessed a nonstop link to North America for a brief period in the 1990s. Gulf Air operated Airbus A340s on a route to New York's JFK Airport. Due to the constraints of the aircraft, pilots occasionally had to make a refuelling stop on the flight to America.^[9][10]

21st century expansion

 

Bahrain International Airport's departure terminal, 2014

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 October 8, 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.

The airport's new $1.1 billion terminal opened on 28 January 2021. 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.^[12]

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 goth at-grade and in multi-story facilities.

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.

Aircraft Fueling

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.

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.

Cargo & Logistics

Through BIA's 25,000 sqm Cargo Terminal, a wide range of services are offered, including export cargo sales, transshipment, inter-airport trucking, and customs clearance.

BIA is also the regional hub for DHL. 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]}

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi
Air India Express	Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram^[13]
AnadoluJet	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku
British Airways	London–Heathrow
Buta Airways	Baku^[14]
Cham Wings Airlines	Damascus^[15]
Egyptair	Alexandria, Cairo
Emirates	Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa^[16]
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi
Flyadeal	Riyadh
flydubai	Dubai–International, Al-Maktoum
Flynas	Al Ula, Dammam, Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh
Go First	Kannur
Gulf Air	Abu Dhabi, Athens, Amman–Queen Alia, Baku,^[17] Bangalore, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Beirut, Cairo, Casablanca,^[17] Chennai, Colombo–Bandaranaike,^[18] Dammam, Delhi, Dhaka,^[19] Doha, Dubai–International, Faisalabad,^[20] Frankfurt, Gassim, Goa–Dabolim,^[21] Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Karachi, Khartoum, Kochi, Kozhikode,^[17] Kuwait City, Lahore, Larnaca, London–Heathrow, Malé,^[22] Manchester,^[23] Manila, Medina, Milan–Malpensa,^[23] Moscow–Domodedovo, Multan,^[20] Mumbai, Muscat, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Peshawar, Ras Al Khaimah,^[24] Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino,^[23] Sharjah, Sialkot, Singapore,^[25] Ta'if, Tbilisi,^[26] Tel Aviv,^[27] Thiruvananthapuram, Seasonal: Alexandria,^[28] Malaga, Mykonos,^[29] Nice,^[23] Salalah, Santorini,^[29] Sharm El Sheikh, ^[28] Seasonal charter: Sarajevo,^[30] Tirana
IndiGo	Mumbai^[31]
Iraqi Airways	Baghdad, Najaf
Israir	Tel Aviv^[32]
Jazeera Airways	Kuwait City
KLM	Amsterdam, Kuwait City
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait City
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Riyadh
Oman Air	Muscat, Salalah, Sohar
Pakistan International Airlines	Lahore^[33]
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen Seasonal: Antalya
SalamAir	Muscat,^[34] Salalah, Sohar
Saudia	Dammam, Jeddah, Medina, Neom Bay, Riyadh
SkyUp	Seasonal charter: Kyiv–Boryspil, Lviv (both suspended)
SunExpress	Charter: Antalya,^[35] Bursa, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Trabzon^[35]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul, Trabzon
Wizz Air	Abu Dhabi^[36]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
AeroLogic^[37]	Frankfurt, Leipzig/Halle, Singapore
Cargolux^[38]	Luxembourg
DHL Aviation^[39]^[better source needed]	Abu Dhabi, Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Baghdad, Bagram, Bangalore, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Brussels, Cairo, Cincinnati, Dubai–International, Hong Kong, Istanbul,^[40] Jeddah, Kandahar, Karachi, Kuwait City, Kyiv–Boryspil, Lahore, Liège, New York–JFK, Sharjah
Emirates SkyCargo^[41]	Dubai–Al Maktoum
Lufthansa Cargo^[42]	Frankfurt
SpiceXpress^[43]	Delhi
Turkish Cargo^[44]	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,^[45] 2006,^[46] 2007,^[47] 2009,^[48] 2011,^[49] 2012,^[50] 2013,^[51] 2014,^[52] 2015,^[53] 2016,^[54] 2017^[55] 2018,^[56] 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	132
2	Kuwait City	Kuwait	83
3	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	56
4	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	56
5	Muscat	Oman	53
6	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	40
7	Dammam	Saudi Arabia	30
8	Istanbul	Turkey	29
9	Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	24
10	London	United Kingdom	21
11	Mumbai	India	21
12	Amman	Jordan	20
13	Cairo	Egypt	19
14	Frankfurt	Germany	14

Accidents and incidents

• On 9 September 1973, 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.^[57]
• In August 2000, a Gulf Air plane (Gulf Air Flight 072) from Cairo crashed when landing at the airport. All passengers and crew died.
• In August 2017, an American F-18 fighter jet crash landed at the airport, with the pilot safely ejecting.^[58]

See also

• List of airports in Bahrain
• Transport in Bahrain

References

1. "2019 Airport Statistics" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
2. . mtt.gov.bh. Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
3. "A Pictorial Journey Through Bahrain Airport's History". Routesonline. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
4. Bahrain International Airport :: About Us – History 2008-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Bahrainairport.com. Retrieved on 2010-10-19.
5. "USAFHRA document 00181427". Airforcehistoryindex.org. 1986-11-13. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
6. Overseas Stations-M Air of Authority.
7. "RAF Muharraq". Retrieved 1 June 2015.
8. "Bahrain Airport Company". Bahrain International Airport. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
9. "Gulf bites back". Flight International. 6 April 1999. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
10. "1995/96: Gulf Air Routes". Routesonline. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
11. "Bahrain Airport Company". Mumtalakat. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
12. "Market Facts". www.bahrainairport.bh. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
13. "TRV-BAH Air India Express Flights Schedule". Air India Express. Retrieved 11 March 2022.|
14. "Buta Airways launches direct flights to Bahrain". AzerNews.az. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
15. chamwings.com - Our destinations retrieved 27 January 2021
16. "Ethiopian splits Bahrain / Dammam flights from March 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
17. "Gulf Air expands S18 network". Routesonline. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
18. Staff writer (2016-12-16). "Bahrain's Gulf Air to resume Sri Lanka flights in January – Transport,GCC,Middle East,South Asia,Transport,Transport". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
19. "Bahrain News Agency | Gulf Air to launch direct flights to Dhaka". Bna.bh. 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
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21. "From Dabolim, Gulf Air to fly to Bahrain in March". The Times of India. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
22. "Gulf Air announces Maldives as it welcomes its 3rd airbus A320neo". Gulf Air. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
23. "gulf air announces launch of flights to rome, milan, nice and manchester in june". Bahrain excellence. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
24. "Gulf Air to launch Ras al Khaimah flights on Oct 3".
25. "Gulf Air Reveals Singapore As New Destination In Q2 2021". Gulf Air. 23 February 2021.
26. Gugunishvili, Nino (23 January 2017). "Gulf Air to Start Direct Flights to Tbilisi". Georgia Today on the Web. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
27. "Gulf Air announces the opening of the sale for flights between Tel Aviv and Bahrain". www.ias.co.il/. 19 April 2021.
28. "Gulf Air Returns To Alexandria And Sharm El Sheikh This Summer". gulfair.com. 4 June 2021.
29. "Gulf Air Adds Santorini And Mykonos This Summer". Gulf Air. 6 May 2021.
30. "Gulf Air to launch Bahrain-Sarajevo flights - Echo Seven âˆŁ E7". Echoseven.net. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
31. "INDIGO ADDS MUMBAI – BAHRAIN ROUTE FROM AUGUST 2022". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
32. "Official: Israir begins flights to Bahrain on January 31 (Hebrew)". passportnews.co.il. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
33. Liu, Jim. "Pakistan International to resume Lahore – Bahrain from mid-Sep 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
34. "Salam Air outlines further network expansion in S19 | Routes". Routesonline.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
35. Ltd. 2019, UBM (UK). "SunExpress adds Bahrain service from Nov 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved Feb 20, 2019.
36. "WIZZ – Dream more. Live more. Be more".
37. aerologic.aero - Network retrieved 27 January 2021
38. cargolux.com - Network & Offices retrieved 27 January 2021
39. "Germany's DHL extends lease for Bahrain International Airport hub". Retrieved 4 November 2021.
40. Jeffrey, Rebecca (5 April 2022). "DHL Express inaugurates new Middle East-Istanbul route". Air Cargo News. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
41. skychain.emirates.com - View Schedule retrieved 27 January 2021
42. lufthansa-cargo.com - Routes & Schedules retrieved 27 January 2021
43. "SpiceJet and Gulf Air to investigate possible collaboration on cargo services". 25 November 2019.
44. Singh, Sumit (2022-02-07). "Turkish Airlines Ends Cargo Operations At Istanbul Atatürk Airport". Simpleflying.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
45. Airport Council International's 2005 World Airport Traffic Report
46. Airport Council International's 2006 World Airport Traffic Report
47. Airport Council International 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine's 2007 World Airport Traffic Report
48. Airport Council International 2016-08-11 at the Wayback Machine's 2009 World Airport Traffic Report
49. Airport Council International's 2011 World Airport Traffic Report
50. Airport Council International's 2012 World Airport Traffic Report
51. Airport Council International's 2013 World Airport Traffic Report
52. Airport Council International's 2014 World Airport Traffic Report
53. Bahrain airport statistics 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine 2015 Bahrain airport statistics
54. "Bahrain Airport Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved Feb 20, 2019.
55. "Bahrain Airport Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved Feb 20, 2019.
56. "2018 Airport Statistics" (PDF). Civil Aviations Authority. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
57. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Vickers Super VC10-1151 G-ASGN Zerqa RAF Station (Dawson's Field)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
58. "US fighter jet crash lands at Bahrain International Airport". gulfnews.com. Gulf News. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2019.

External links

  Media related to Bahrain International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Lisy of Bahrain Airspace ( Entry / Exit Points )