As the main driver of the Gulf nation’s expansion from its Bahrain International Airport hub, Gulf Air has this summer opened new routes to destinations including Guangzhou, Geneva, Munich, Rhodes and Shanghai.
Capacity from Bahrain hit a record high in August 2024, helped by the addition of several new routes launched in recent months.
According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, there were about 639,000 departure seats from the country during the month, marking a year-on-year rise of 9% and up by 2% on July 2024. Prior to this year, the previous monthly high was set in August 2018 when capacity totalled 625,600 departure seats.
National carrier Gulf Air is the primary reason for the growth, although new players like Pakistan’s Fly Jinnah have added flights over the summer. The LCC launched a 2X-weekly route from Islamabad in June, while in September Saudi Arabian LCC Flynas will open a route from Madinah, adding to its existing flights from Jeddah and Riyadh.
As the main driver of the Gulf nation’s expansion from its Bahrain International Airport (BAH) hub, Gulf Air has this summer opened new routes to destinations including Guangzhou, Geneva, Munich, Rhodes and Shanghai. Flights also restarted to Iraq in April after a four-year absence, while flight frequencies were increased to Doha, Muscat, Manchester, Milan and Rome.
Service to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport are currently operating three and four times per week, respectively, becoming the sole connections between Bahrain and mainland China.
Overall, Gulf Air has a 64% capacity share of all departure seats from BAH during August 2024, followed by Emirates on 5.2% and flydubai on 3.7%. The country is also served by other major international carriers, including British Airways, Etihad, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.
The scheduled capacity growth from Bahrain in August follows a robust first half of the year for Gulf Air Group, which includes Gulf Air and Bahrain Airport Company. Gulf Air reported an 8.5% rise in passenger volume, serving 3.1 million travelers compared to the same period last year. Capacity expanded to more than 4.3 million seats, with a passenger load factor of 77.9%.
Bahrain Airport Company also reported a 13.2% increase in passenger volume at BAH, serving 4.6 million travelers in the first half of 2024. Air traffic movements rose by 9.4%, exceeding 48,000.
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