Bahrain's parliament yesterday (January 17) voted to oblige all government employees to travel with Gulf Air when flying at the country's expense.

The MPs said during their weekly session that if a desired destination was not available then staff could fly to a second country on Gulf Air and then change to another airline.

They believe it will help promote Gulf Air and ensure government money is pumped into it. The proposal will be sent to HRH the Premier directly for possible implementation.

It follows a row between Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and the national carrier over seating arrangements during a recent flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Our sister publication the Gulf Daily News reported on Sunday that Shaikh Khalid was so dissatisfied that he issued a memo to ministry staff, urging them not to fly with the airline. – TradeArabia News Service