Gulf Air set to soon launch direct flights to Australia, says minister
MANAMA: Gulf Air is set to soon launch direct flights to Australia, Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani told a webinar today.
The minister said Australia was one of the key destinations planned for launch as part of the airline's 2020 growth strategy but had to be pushed back due to the ongoing pandemic.
"We were very close to launching even through the Covid-19 but then Australia brought in restrictions of travellers into the country which made the plan unfeasible as at one point last year only Australians were allowed to come back and there were many restrictions," he added.
The minister who is also chairman of Gulf Air said, "We did go all the way to the point of getting slots and timings but we had to postpone it but it's definitely coming and it's just a question of timing as to how quickly we recover from Covid-19."
As part of a fleet modernisation programme started in 2018, Bahrain's national carrier announced it will be inducting 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, allowing it to operate long-haul flights.
Gulf Air has announced it is launching flights to Singapore next month, adding to its list of Asian routes of Bangkok and Manila.
The webinar was organised by Australia Bahrain Business Council in partnership with Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce.
