Bahrain Air, the Kingdom's youngest airline, has been accepted as a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The formal notification was received on March 22.

Bahrain Air has fulfilled all the required operational and safety standards necessary to qualify for the IATA certificate, having successfully renewed its Iata Operational Safety Audit earlier this year.

'This is a historic moment for a young airline like Bahrain Air,' chief executive Richard Nuttall said.

'The path to qualify for IATA membership is highly demanding and requires dedication and discipline. But our team has worked very hard to see this day,' he remarked.

'Going forward, this membership will allow us to build on our distribution and work with other IATA carriers to provide better connectivity to, from and over Bahrain.

'At the same time, we will have better access to all the services of IATA as we continue to take Bahrain Air to new levels in the future,' he added.

'We are pleased to welcome Bahrain Air to the IATA family,' IATA Middle East and North Africa vice-president Dr Majdi Sabri said.

'Bahrain Air is a growing airline in possibly the most dynamic aviation region of the world,' he pointed out.

'Being an IATA member not only confirms that Bahrain Air conforms to the highest safety standards, it also gives the airline opportunity through IATA's activities to benefit from the latest industry best practices.

'We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the airline,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service