Travel: Bahrain hopes new airport will improve image

One has to wonder about some of the motives for Bahrain's troubles. Frequent visitors to the Middle East point to Bahrain and express delight that, unlike most of its neighbours, Bahrain has managed to retain both its small-town feel and its modesty. Compared to e.g. Dubai where buckets of money are thrown at cars, Bahrainis drive ordinary saloons: the roads (which are generally relatively free of traffic jams) are filled with mid-range Toyotas and the like. It's a welcome dose of normality compared to the Disneyland lifestyle of some nearby Emirates.

In the complaints that protesters are making, one suspects that at least part of the situation is driven by jealousy against the Saudis who pour across the bridge joining the two countries to drink and party in Bahrain, flashing wads of cash around. It is to be hoped that, whatever the outcome of the protests, that the Bahrainis do not lose sight of who they are: just really, really nice people to be among.

At the height of the protests, one of the biggest headaches was that it was all but impossible to reach Bahrain's small airport. But the airport, itself, was just like Bahrain: unpretentious and fully functional.

Airports are today's equivalent of the Tower Bridge, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge : they are statements to impress arriving passengers.

And while the architecture often succeeds (Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai) the "experience" often does not. And unlike bridges which gain grace with age, airports turn into dingy dumps that must be seriously updated (Changi Terminal 1, Heathrow Terminal 3) if they are to avoid becoming an embarrassment. (Changi is undergoing that now, LHR T3 is, at best, a toilet despite some recent work).

Some airports are giant sheds (Washington Dulles). Few have achieved iconic design status (Charles de Gaule). And some have, somehow, managed to become curios, gone through the "bit out of date" phase and matured into national treasures (Jakarta - it's like a Thunderbirds set and all the better for it).

Bahrain is not going to throw away its cute and efficient Manama airport and that is a very good thing. But it is going to increase facilities to cope with a hoped-for 50% improvement in passenger traffic and a growing freight hub.

The expansion is not going to produce a mega-airport: the entire expansion program is expected to take four years and add 40,000 square metres, five new gates and forty check-in counters, boosting the airport capacity from 9 million to 13.5 million passengers, reports Arabian Business News. The airport which is owned by Mumtalakat, the country's sovereign wealth fund, has awarded engineering consulting firm, Dar Al Handasah, BD 4.4m (USd11.6m) to begin the expansion project.

To put that into perspective: it plans to handle around the same capacity as Kuala Lumpur's Low Cost Carrier terminal.

"The plans we are initiating for an expanded international airport are essential to Bahrain's continued development, not only in providing businesses in Bahrain with the access they demand for the future, but also in bolstering the growing aviation and logistics industry in the kingdom," said Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chairman of the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) in an interview with Arabian Business News.

Bahrain is a late developer in the financial services industry but it is taking care to ensure the quality of businesses that arrive. It does not operate a fully open-door policy.