Terminal operations erminal operations
The key
fter a decade of planning, Bahrain Airport opened a new state-of-the-art terminal to the tune of $1.1bn in January 2021. The legacy building – which was initially designed to process four million passengers per year – had done a valiant job, handling more than 9.5 million passengers in 2019, but it was no longer fit for purpose. As part of Bahrain Airport’s comprehensive Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP), the upgrade is four times the size of its predecessor – with the capacity to handle 14 million passengers. In addition, it offers travellers a much more streamlined and secure experience thanks to dozens of integrated technology systems, including self-bag-drop and immigration e-gates.
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“[The legacy terminal] did more than we could have asked it to do, and it was time to look forward to something more representative of the various aspects of life in Bahrain that have progressed over the years,” says Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, CEO of Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), who has overseen
Future Airport /
www.futureairport.com
to the kingdom
In 2021, Bahrain International Airport opened a new, state-of-the-art terminal to the tune of $1.1bn. Four times the size of the legacy terminal, the upgrade enhances airport effi ciency and security while providing a more streamlined experience for passengers. Elly Earls speaks with Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, CEO of Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), and board member on the ACI World Governing Board, about the benefi ts that automation, digitalisation and contactless solutions can offer.
the entire transformation process since 2012, when the idea to upgrade the existing terminal was first put on the planning table.
In 2013, the strategy shifted to constructing a completely new building. Design and project management consultants were appointed the following year. By 2015, preparations for the site were under way and in 2016 the main contractor was appointed and broke ground on the new terminal. “Just prior to the pandemic, we had almost completed the construction, we were in the final stages of testing, commissioning and preparing for public trials, and then things started to go south,” Al Binfalah recalls. At that point, the airport was dealing with bringing stranded Bahrainis back home on repatriation flights to the legacy terminal, while trying to carry out the trials necessary to establish that the new terminal was ready for operations. In the end, they decided to massively scale back these trials, using only airport staff to ascertain whether the new technology systems were talking to each other.
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Bahrain Airport Company
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