Bahraini officials forced to use Gulf Air exclusively

BAHRAIN’S government has instructed all of its officials to only use the national carrier, Gulf Air, when sending air cargo and for travelling.

Minister of state for cabinet affairs, Shaikh Ahmed bin Atiyatallah Al Khalifa, who issued the decree, said that supporting the airline was a national responsibility that would in turn feed the emirate’s economy. He added that legal action would be taken against government bodies that did not do so.

Meanwhile, Gulf Air has announced it is to launch a new service to Aden (Yemen), and will resume flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka).

“We are the first Gulf carrier to connect Aden to the entire Middle East region. None of the regional carriers operate to Aden,” said the chief executive officer of Gulf Air, Sameer Majali.”

Gulf Air will start operating the new Aden route four times a week starting 22 September; the Colombo service five times a week from 5 October.

The new routes come close on the heels of Gulf Air’s renewed focus on its regional operations to bolster revenues, doing away with several of its old routes. The carrier this week cancelled its services to the South Indian city of Trivandrum, which is considered lucrative by Gulf carriers.

Majali said: “As the commercial capital of Yemen, Aden presents enormous opportunity for Gulf Air. The city has recently been included in the Yemen government’s development priorities with major plans to support the city’s trade zone, port, airport and private sector and by attracting promising investments.”