Bahrain's Gulf Air launches direct...

National carrier expands network to second airport in UK capital

Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has commenced direct flights from Bahrain International Airport (BAH) to London Gatwick Airport (LGW).

The inaugural flight took place on 30 March 2025 and is Gulf Air’s second destination in London, having served Heathrow for 55 years.

The airline said the network expansion reinforced its commitment to offering passengers greater travel options, with access to two major gateways in the UK.

There are three weekly flights between BAH and LGW on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while Gulf Air flies to Heathrow twice daily.

Flights depart Bahrain at 01:45 and arriving into London at 06:55. The return flight leaves LGW at 11:25, reaching Bahrain at 20:00, with the route served by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The additional flights are timed ahead of an expected influx of passengers to Bahrain for the F1 Grand Prix on 13 April 2025, and ahead of the summer season which sees London as a popular outbound destination.

According to VisitBritain, the UK welcomed 40,000 visits from Bahrain in 2023, with those travellers spending US$100.8 million.

Gulf Air saw passengers increase 5.4% to 6.2 million in 2024 as it added six new destinations, including AlUla in Saudi Arabia, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China, Mykonos/Rhodes in Greece, Geneva in Switzerland and Munich in Germany.

Additional flights were also added to key destinations including Doha in Qatar, Muscat in Oman, Manchester in the UK, Milan and Rome in Italy and Singapore.

The expansion to Gatwick is timely, given the recent closure of Heathrow due to a power outage that exposed many airlines’ dependance on Europe’s busiest airport.

For more information, visit www.gulfair.com

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