Bahrain International Airport (BIA) could soon become a gateway not only to the kingdom, but also to its cuisine, creativity and young entrepreneurial talent, under a new parliamentary proposal aimed at transforming available space in the terminal.
Five MPs, led by airport area MP Mohammed Al Olaiwi, are calling for Bahraini entrepreneurs to be given pride of place at the terminal, offering local foods, snacks, sweets, beverages, handicrafts and handmade products to travellers.
“The airport is the country’s front window and it doesn’t look it,” said Mr Al Olaiwi. “Not in terms of human resources, where Bahrainis are already the majority, but in the lack of local food, beverages and products.”
He said the idea was inspired by the success of home-grown concepts seen at recent major tourism events. “We have seen young Bahrainis in Muharraq Nights and Hawa Al Manama who could take up spaces there with dining and cafe concepts,” he added.
According to Mr Al Olaiwi, the proposal offers a win-win solution for both entrepreneurs and the authorities, as the idiom suggests, killing two birds with one stone. “The young get to shine and at the same time empty spaces are filled up,” he said.
“The Bahrain Duty Free has its customers and the branded outlets have their own following ... but this is a new concept altogether.”
The move comes as MPs increasingly argue that BIA’s full potential remains untapped, despite the opening of its new state-of-the-art passenger terminal in 2021. The 207,000sqm facility is four times the size of the old terminal and can handle up to 14 million passengers annually, yet large areas remain commercially underutilised, they suggest.
Parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee chairman Ahmed Al Salloom, a co-signee of the proposal and chairman of the Bahrain Small and Medium Enterprises Development Society, said the concept could provide an unprecedented platform for young Bahrainis.
“The concept is so good and could be done through a select process in which the ‘best of the best’ could be chosen,” said Mr Al Salloom. “It could also be tested at certain spaces in the airport before going forward.”
He noted that similar ideas have proven successful at major international hubs. “The idea is popular in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, London Gatwick, Singapore and Mumbai, so I think it would hit the right note here too,” he added.
The proposal builds on earlier parliamentary and municipal initiatives seeking to reposition BIA as a destination airport rather than merely a transit point. Previous ideas included entertainment facilities, cultural attractions and expanded retail offerings to encourage transit passengers – some waiting several hours for connecting flights – to spend more time and money at the terminal.
Supporters argue that highlighting Bahraini products and culinary heritage would differentiate BIA from competing regional hubs, while aligning with national economic diversification goals and support for small and medium enterprises.
With further airport expansion already on the government’s infrastructure agenda, MPs believe now is the right time to rethink how space inside the terminal is used.
“If adopted, the plan could mean that for many visitors, their first – and last – taste of Bahrain would quite literally be Bahraini,” said Mr Al Salloom.
Chicken Machboos, the fragrant, one-pot, spiced rice national dish of Bahrain, featuring aromatic spices like cardamom and cloves and pungent black limes, may soon tempt hungry travellers as they touch down and look through the selection of weaved baskets on display.
Wonderful weavers
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
READ MORE:
&uuid=(email))