PASSENGER traffic at Bahrain International Airport (BIA) more than doubled last year compared to 2021.
The airport welcomed 6.9 million passengers last year, a 127.5 per cent jump over 3m in 2021, and only 29pc less than pre-pandemic figures of 9.6m in 2019, according to the latest figures released yesterday.
The statistics were revealed during the sixth meeting of the Bahrain Airport Company’s (BAC) Airport Facilitation Committee tasked with reviewing the operational facilitation of passengers, crew and baggage at BIA.
The committee discussed a range of topics including BIA’s performance figures, which saw aircraft traffic movements surge from 51,000 in 2021 to 82,000 last year, just 15pc short of 2019, and cargo tonnage increase from 324,000 in 2021, to 379,000, a 30pc spike compared to 2019.
The committee also discussed BIA’s impressive achievements, including receiving a Skytrax 5-star rating for the second consecutive year, and taking another important step towards becoming a completely carbon-neutral facility by reaching Level 4 of Airports Council International’s (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
“We can all be proud of how well our airport performed last year as we came closer to reaching pre-pandemic figures,” said BAC chief executive officer Mohamed Al Binfalah.
“This data points to an even stronger recovery in 2023 and, with passenger traffic on the rise, we are fully prepared to meet the needs of BIA’s guests.”
The meeting also included presentations on aviation security, fire prevention, and the upcoming full scale emergency exercise, which will test the BIA’s emergency plan and access the capabilities, readiness, and its effectiveness in dealing with potential incidents.
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