Bahrain airport passenger numbers up 25.7pc in June

Passenger numbers at Bahrain International Airport (BIA) hit 728,614 in June, up 25.7 per cent compared to the same period last year, said a report.

The significant growth comes on the back of an increase in the number of airlines operating out of BIA and the introduction of several new routes, said a report BNA, citing Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of BIA.

The national carrier Gulf Air added Baku (Azerbaijan), Alexandria (Egypt), Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Casablanca (Morocco), and Calicut (India) to its list of destinations.

Atlas Global added a new flight from Antalya to Bahrain and Turkish Airlines added a new flight from Trabzon to Bahrain.

BIA also welcomed the arrival of Azerbaijan Airlines, which commenced a direct service twice a week from Baku to Bahrain, the report said.

In terms of airline market share at BIA during the month, Gulf Air retained its leading position with 64.8 per cent of the total. Emirates was second with 6.3 per cent, and FlyDubai was third with 4.9 per cent.