Double the number of passengers are expected to pass through Bahrain International Airport this year compared to five years ago, it emerged.

More than 8.5 million passengers are expected to use the airport this year, an increase of one million from last year.

However, that figure is well above the 4.3 million passengers recorded in 2003 - indicating the ever-increasing number of people arriving in the country.

The first four months of this year had already seen a record number of airport passengers, revealed Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA) acting under-secretary Ahmed Nemat Ali.

He said there had been a 26 per cent increase in people using the airport in the first four months, compared to the same period last year.

'We have already seen 2.8 million passengers use the airport so far,' he said.

Ali was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on the use of bar coded boarding passes (BCBP) and common use self-service (CUSS) at the Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, Residence and Spa.

The event is organised by the CAA in co-operation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

'If the same trend continues, and we see no reason why it should not, Bahrain will maintain the same growth rate and will cross the eight million mark by December this year,' he said.

'This will be one million more passengers than last year,' he said.

He said the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has already forecast a 15 per cent growth in the air transport business this year.

'Bahrain, on the other hand, is expected to do much better on its own,' said Ali.

He said Mena, for example, would grow by 6.8 per cent over the next five years, while the rest of the world is expected to see a five per cent growth over the same period.

'Bahrain's growth rate is expected to be around seven per cent during the same period, which will be a significant achievement,' said Ali.

e-ticketing deadline

Bahrain International Airport is ready to switch completely to e-ticketing by June 1, the deadline set by the IATA, said the official.

'All the airlines have already started issuing these tickets and greatly simplified procedures,' he said.

Ali said the BCBP would also soon be fully implemented at the airport, well before the end-2010 deadline set by the IATA.

'This will enable passengers to print their boarding passes from their own homes and check in without a need to queue up at airport counters,' he said.

'Also on the anvil is the CUSS that will reduce or completely eliminate human intervention in airport operations, with passengers able to check in their baggage and complete other formalities themselves. This will eliminate queues at airports.'

IATA business simplifying programme director Philippe Bruyere said the new measures would result in a global savings of around $6.8 billion annually.

'While BCBP is slated to be operational only by 2010, CUSS is expected to be operational at 130 airports worldwide by the end of the year,' he said.

'With the Bahrain airport being modernised, it would be available here as well to coincide with the modernisation or even before that.'

Bruyere said radio frequency identification of baggage and e-freight were other procedures being implemented. 'The idea is to simplify travel since this business is growing at a rapid pace,' he said.

Bruyere said surveys by IATA have indicated more than 63 per cent of the travellers want the new procedures to be implemented.

'These procedures are a challenge for the airport authorities and the airlines, especially since a lot of staff training is also involved, but our experience tells us that Bahrain is capable of rising to the occasion,' he said.-TradeArabia News Service