Jewel of the Gulf

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A development masterplan for Bahrain International Airport and a close relationship with the country's new logistics zone heralds a sparkling future for the island state's cargo network.

From a historical perspective, Bahrain, like many of the other GCC states, has been a natural stopping-off point for airlines travelling to the Far East and vice versa.

Now, in the same way that Dubai is seeking to assert its influence in its own right, the state's air facilities are attempting to leverage the regional growth in airfreight, which is currently the fastest growing in the world, according to IATA's latest monthly figures.

With regard to general passenger growth, the global industry body sees average passenger growth in the Middle East rising by around 8.1% per year, whereas global passenger growth is expected to increase by a relatively miserly 5.4%.

Bahrain International Airport, the island state's major facility, has seen recent figures rise above even the regional average. With 39 international airlines plying their services and with 7.3 million passengers and 377,000 tonnes of cargo passing through the airport during 2007, the facility seems set for a stellar future. Looking at the most recent results issued by the facility, it seems clear that passenger movements are the major driver of its success.

In the January-March 2008 period, Bahrain International Airport's passenger movements stood at 18,141, a 31% rise on the same period last year, while cargo movements amounted to 3608, an 8% rise year-on-year.

In terms of overflying movements, cargo growth was up 19% on the same period last year. In April, airport cargo movements increased by 6% on the same period last year, while overflying movements increased by 21%.

But what facilities can the airport provide both for regional and global freight operators? Bahrain Airport has a dedicated 18,000m2 high-level racking warehouse, which, by itself, has a handling capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year. The cargo department offers export sales, transhipment arrangements and inter-airport trucking, and the airport also provides break-bulk facilities for consolidators and bonded warehousing for specialist companies.

In addition, the airport's specialised handling systems allow ULDs to be transported via roller beds and elevated transfer vehicles. Furthermore, the facility's forklift trucks can carry capacity of up to 12 tonnes, and it also has cargo ULD weighing facilities for items up to 30 tonnes.

With regard to specialised storage space, Bahrain International Airport also has access to freezers, chillers and cold rooms to enable the transfer of perishable items and allow the cool chain to remain secure. As well as this, the hub is capable of handling dangerous goods, livestock, radioactive material and valuable goods, and there is also a separate storage area for diplomatic communications.

In terms of airfreight forwarding services, the airport offers both export and import consolidations, discounted rates for bulk movements, associations with most of the major air cargo operators, and a number of scheduling options, plus project work and flight chartering. Bahrain International Airport also provides customs clearance services and assists with customs documentation, the inspection of shipments and the stuffing and de-stuffing of freight containers.

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