Bahrain International Airport (BIA) last year welcomed more than 9,350,000 passengers, marking the second-highest number on record, and the highest since 2019, according to the 2024 Civil Aviation Annual Statistics Report.

According to the report, released by the Transportation and Telecommunications Ministry, the total passenger movement has seen an average increase of 13 per cent in the past decade.

It was prepared in co-ordination with Bahrain Airport Company, Bahrain Airport Services, Bahrain Aviation Fuelling Company and DHL Aviation.

Dubai remains by far the most popular destination among travellers, retaining its top spot from the previous year, with more than a million passengers.

PASSENGER MOVEMENT

A total of 9,350,580 passengers went through the airport last year, a 7pc increase from 2023, which saw 8,711,018 passengers in the same period.

Out of that, 4,719,438 passengers disembarked (7pc increase), 4,611,135 embarked on their journeys (7pc increase), and 20,007 transited through the airport (230pc increase).

This was from an estimated 101,534 aircraft, up from 93,648 in 2023 (8pc increase).

August was the busiest month of the year due to summer break and people looking to escape the heat, with 884,074 passengers.

March, which last year coincided with Ramadan, saw the fewest travellers with 695,140 passengers.

From 2013 to 2024, the airport has on average seen a 13pc increase in passenger movement.

During that period, the highest growth was registered in 2022 which saw an increase from 3,020,942 to 6,888,284 (a 128pc increase), as the airline industry began to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The biggest drop was registered in 2020, decreasing from 9,578,797 in 2019 (the highest number since record began), to just 2,269,232 (a drop of 76pc), due to the onset of the pandemic.

DESTINATIONS

For the second year running, Dubai remained as the most popular destination among passengers from Bahrain International Airport, with 1,126,037 people (down by 1pc) travelling to Dubai International Airport.

Riyadh, which is growing in popularity among travellers, also remained as the second most popular destination with 589,064 passengers (13pc increase).

The destination with the highest growth was Doha, the third most popular overall, which registered a 125pc increase in passengers compared to the year before (482,292 in 2024, 214,554 in 2023).

London-Heathrow was the most popular European destination, and the fourth most popular one overall, with 481,552 (a 1pc decrease from the previous year). It is the only European destination on this year’s top 10 list.

Overall, the GCC region saw the most passengers with an estimated 4,544,175, a 13pc increase from 2023.

The UAE was the most popular destination with 1,906,217 (2pc increase), followed by Saudi Arabia with 1,396,929 (10pc increase), Qatar with 482,308 (125pc increase), Kuwait with 432,242 (7pc drop), and Oman with 243,267 (17pc increase).

Iraq, which was noted down as a GCC destination, saw 83,212 passengers.

The Middle East and Africa region (excluding the GCC), saw a total of 416,321 passengers last year (2pc drop). Egypt was the most popular destination, with Cairo and Sharm El Shaikh registering around 251,628 passengers (6pc increase).

A total of 1,609,540 people travelled to Europe (4pc increase), with the UK being by far the most popular destination with 600,331 (4pc increase).

Notably, Türkiye, once a major destination for Bahrainis, saw 392,864 passengers (a 5pc decrease).

The Indian Subcontinent was the most popular region outside the GCC with around 2,272,167 passengers in total (same as last year). India alone registered 1,469,781 passengers.

Delhi was the most popular destination with 299,859 passengers (5pc decrease), followed closely by Mumbai with 298,580 (6pc increase).

Finally, 508,377 travelled to East Asia (17pc increase), Manila being the most popular destination with 201,647 (5pc decrease), followed by Bangkok with 187,287 (1pc decrease) and China with 76,415 (direct flights launched in May 2024).

SUMMER SCHEDULE

During the summer period, which the report states is from March 29 to October 30, a total of 562 weekly flights to 64 different destinations took off as scheduled from the airport.

The GCC had the most weekly flights with 257. Dubai led the way with 49 flights per week, followed by Doha and Riyadh with 35 each, and Dammam, Jeddah and Kuwait with 28 each.

In the Indian Subcontinent there were 139 flights per week. Mumbai and Delhi had the most journeys with 14, followed by Chennai and Karachi with 10 each, and Hyderabad and Dhaka with nine each.

In Middle East and Africa, Cairo had the most frequent flights with 14 per week, followed by Amman with 10 and Casablanca with 3.

London Heathrow and Istanbul were the European destinations with most frequent flights with 14 each, followed by Athens with 10, and multiple destinations including Paris and Frankfurt with seven each.

Bangkok had the most weekly flights in East Asia with 10, followed by Manila with 9 and Shanghai with 4.

The new destination with the most weekly flights last year was Doha with 21. Other new destinations included Bodrum, Malaga and Milan.

AIRLINE PERFORMANCE

Gulf Air was the carrier of choice for a vast majority of passengers, with 6,144,465 travellers, a 6pc growth compared to 2023. They also had the highest market share with 66pc.

Flydubai was second with 417,275 (16pc drop), followed by Air Arabia with 301,006 (6pc increase), Qatar Airways with 279,253 (139pc increase) and Emirates with 271,824 (10pc increase).

Flynas registered the highest growth in passengers during this period, with 130,126 travellers in 2024 compared to 14,309 in 2023, which is a 809pc increase.

Air India in contrast saw the biggest drop in passenger numbers, with only 24,656 compared to 89,608 in the previous year (72pc drop).

Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).