Gulf Air is set to launch direct services to the Russian capital Moscow from October 28.

The airline will operate four flights per week to Domodedovo International Airport - 42km from the centre of Moscow and the city's largest airport in terms of passenger and cargo traffic, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Flight GF0014 will depart from Bahrain at 9.05am on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, arriving in Moscow at 2.05pm, whereas the return flight GF0015 will leave Moscow at 2.50pm, arriving in Bahrain at 7.30pm.

Gulf Air flights to Moscow will be operated by an A320-ER aircraft in a two-class configuration of 14 Falcon Gold seats and 96 seats in economy.

The route addition follows Gulf Air's recent commencement of services to a number of destinations, including Sialkot in Pakistan, Tehran in Iran and the Greek capital, Athens, this year.

"Gulf Air will enter Russia for the first time and the addition of Moscow operations further demonstrates the airline's strategy of strengthening our network with key global destinations that provide strategic business and tourism links," Gulf Air acting chief executive Maher Salman Al Musallam said.

"By connecting Bahrain with Moscow, we are opening up new doors of opportunity for trade, tourism and investment for both countries.

"We are confident this new route will be a success for our passenger operations, and we look forward to facilitating business and leisure traffic between the two countries and beyond.

"We have scheduled our Moscow operations to serve regional travellers with convenient connections through Bahrain, providing excellent connectivity for travellers flying from the GCC, Indian Subcontinent and Asia," he added.

One of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, Moscow is home to a number of historic and cultural sights in addition to iconic landmarks such as the Red Square and Kremlin.

A major political, cultural, economic and scientific centre in Russia and the region, Moscow receives approximately three million tourists annually. - TradeArabia News Service