Bahrain International Airport (BIA) saw a 23% surge in Formula One (F1) related cargo volumes in the build up to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
More than 1,564 tonnes carried on 19 cargo flights arrived at the Middle East hub in the run up to the race weekend, carrying the race cars, spare parts, computer equipment and tools.
The F1 cargo was screened by customs and stored in the airport’s 25,000 sq m cargo terminal, operated by Bahrain Airport Services (BAS), before being delivered to Bahrain International Circuit for the race.
AirBridgeCargo, Cargolux, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Atlas Air, Qantas Air, Singapore Airlines, and Aerotrans Airlines operated freighter flights to the Kingdom, specifically for the F1 event.
In addition, BIA accommodated 102 VIP/CIP movements with 52 passenger aircraft in total. Special arrangements were also made to accommodate up to 30 private jets at the same time.
Bahrain Airport Co’s (BAC) chief airport operations officer, Michael Hohenberger, said: “This surge in flights, passengers, and cargo demonstrates the airport’s capability to handle large volumes of traffic, which will increase even further when the new passenger terminal building launches later this year.”
