Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) CEO Mohamed Yousif Albinfalah speaks to Routes.

What are the major recent successes at your organisation?

Launching Bahrain International Airport’s (BAH) new passenger terminal in record time, with no sacrifices in terms of quality and design is a national achievement. Everyone who worked on this project has the right to feel proud, as it is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the kingdom. Through the provision of world-class facilities, services and infrastructure, the new airport will sustain the growth of Bahrain’s aviation sector for decades to come.

On the back of this, Bahrain International was named as the World’s Best New Airport at the 2022 World Airport Awards, held during the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Paris, France. The awards are the international airport industry’s most prestigious accolades.

This enormous undertaking was completed despite the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, which forced us to continue operating the legacy terminal while testing, commissioning and preparing for transfer of operations to the new one concurrently.

This is just the latest in a series of awards we have received since transferring operations to the new terminal in January 2021, which we consider our greatest success to date.

What are your main strategic ambitions in the short-, medium- and long-term?

Working alongside our partners, our immediate ambition is to create a better airport experience for our guests and airport digitalization is having a major positive impact on the experiences of passengers and staff. Innovation and business transformation are critical for long-term success, and airports that embrace them will stay on the leading edge. Bahrain International’s strategy is to keep introducing new technologies that make the travel experience more seamless, efficient and diversifying the airport’s revenues.

Developing a more diverse route network is a top priority for any airport. In addition to giving passengers more destinations to choose from, it also enables flows of trade, investment, and tourism, which support wider economic growth, improving productivity, and increasing competitiveness. We continue looking for new airline partners to enhance the airport’s connectivity, further connecting Bahrain with the World.

Our training and development programs are building capabilities which we would like to utilize for the benefit of other airport and the wider aviation sector. The experience we have gained in launching what is currently considered the World’s Best New Airport can be valuable to the wider aviation industry.

What is your main goal in attending Routes World 2022?

Bahrain has been a strategic gateway between the east and the west, and an important regional aviation hub providing seamless global connections. Our goal is to highlight Bahrain’s advantages as an aviation hub and the many incentives for both commercial and cargo airlines wishing to enter the gulf market. BAC also aims to highlight Bahrain’s position as a forward-thinking nation with laws and regulations that are designed to empower business. The kingdom has the most diversified economy in the GCC and has seen strong growth in the financial services, technology innovation, manufacturing, and logistics sectors.