Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has stepped up its services to Iraq with daily services to Najaf.
The arrival of the maiden flight into the Holy City took the number of destinations Gulf Air serves in Iraq to two and the airline’s total route network to 44 airports in 29 countries.
The packed Gulf Air flight, operated by an Airbus 320 aircraft, carried a delegation of senior officials from Gulf Air as well as government, business, religious, diplomatic and media representatives and a number of guests.
Najaf is a historic city which has great religious significance in the Muslim world and also lies less than 30 km from the ancient city of Babylon, with close proximity to other important holy cities including Kufa and Kerbala.
Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali said: “We have identified Iraq as a niche destination to which, building on our previous experience and knowledge of operating to the country, we can provide a trusted and important link to our customers and be their first choice when flying to the country based on excellent connectivity, value for money, and friendly service.”
Majali added that the business potential is enormous and as such Gulf Air planned to increase the service, which flew four times a week at its launch, to daily as part of the 2009/2010 winter schedule from October 26, by which time the airline would have received two of the 15 brand new A320 aircraft on order.