Origins The origins of Bahrain's international airport dates to 1927 when a chartered flight to Bahrain landed. The first scheduled
commercial airliner to arrive in
Bahrain, in 1932, was a flight from London to
Delhi operated on a
Handley Page H.P.42 aircraft named
Hannibal. The H.P.42 carried only 24 passengers, and the flight from London had taken several days of flying at speeds of 100 miles per hour. Through this regularly scheduled service, Bahrain became established as one of the
Persian Gulf's first international airports as well as one of
the busiest airports in the Middle East. During World War II, the airport was used by the
United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command Central African Wing, being designated as Station # 13. It functioned as a stopover en route to
Abadan Airport,
Iran or
Sharjah Airport, in present-day
UAE on the
Karachi-
Cairo route. From 1943 until Bahrain's independence in December 1971, the
Royal Air Force maintained a military installation at the airfield known initially as
RAF Bahrain and from 1963 as
RAF Muharraq. The majority of these facilities were later acquired by the Bahraini flag carrier airline,
Gulf Air, while a small portion continues to be utilized by the
U.S. Navy as Aviation Support Unit (ASU) Bahrain.
20th century In 1936, the operation of
H.P.42 aircraft from London to India via
Bahrain had been stepped up to a twice-weekly frequency. In 1937, Bahrain saw the regular service of the
Empire sea planes. The landing strip of these giants on the water was from where the marina club is located in Mina Salman today. From the 1950s,
BOAC operated several services a week through Bahrain. These included weekly services to
Karachi,
Singapore,
Hong Kong and three times a week to
Sydney. 1950 was a significant year not only for
Muharraq as an international airport, but also for Bahrain's commercial aviation history. In this year, a new local airline, Gulf Aviation Company, was formed – the forerunner of
Gulf Air. The company started with only one aircraft, a second-hand
Anson Mark II, which was used initially on services to
Dhahran. However, within two years, the fleet had expanded to four
de Havilland aircraft and
DC-3s for use on a steadily growing network in the Persian Gulf. This established Bahrain on an international stage. It was easily the most modern and advanced airport in the Persian Gulf with a good runway, control tower, lighting, communication facilities and even restaurants. It began to attract other carriers such as
Middle East Airlines,
Air India,
Air Ceylon and
Iran Air – mostly operating
Dakotas. In December 1961, a new passenger terminal opened at the airport. During 1970–1971, RAF Muharraq was scaled back and eventually closed. In December 1971, the airport opened new passenger facilities, which included a wide area that could accommodate four
747 aircraft. In 1976, the airport marked another significant first with the inauguration of
supersonic flights, which saw the start-up of regular
BA Concorde service between London and Bahrain.
Pan Am introduced direct flights to New York in December 1976. It operated the route with Boeing 747SPs. In the 1980s and 1990s, major facelifts took place and several major airline companies made the airport a destination. In 1994, a US$100 million terminal was inaugurated which boosted the airport's maximum capacity to 10 million passengers a year.
21st century expansion In 2008, the airport was placed under the management of the newly created
Bahrain Airport Company, which falls under the umbrella of the Gulf Air Holding Company, which in turn is owned by
Mumtalakat, Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund. On 8 October 2009, it was announced that BHD 1.8 billion expansion of Bahrain International Airport will start in 2010. The expansion, planned over the next 30 years, intended to triple the passenger capacity to 27 million a year. In April 2010,
United Airlines began service to Washington, D.C., via Kuwait. The carrier flew the route with a Boeing 777. United left Bahrain in January 2016. Since 2020 the airport has placed an increased effort to enhance the sustainability of the airport, including a
LEED gold certification for the new Terminal Passenger Building in 2021, achieving a second consecutive
ISO recertification for quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems in March 2024 and becoming the first airport in the world to achieve the
International Air Transport Association Environmental Assessment Certification in November 2024. ==Facilities==