Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport مطار البحرين الدولي Maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī
IATA: BAH ICAO: OBBI BAH Location of airport in Bahrain
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Bahrain Airport Company
Serves	Bahrain
Location	Al Muharraq
Hub for	Gulf Air Kalitta Air SNAS/DHL Swiftair Bahrain
Elevation AMSL	6 ft / 2 m
Coordinates	26°16′15″N 50°38′01″E / 26.27083°N 50.63361°E / 26.27083; 50.63361
Website	bahrainairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12L/30R 12,979 3,956 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 8,586,645 Passenger change 14–15 6.0% Aircraft movements 100,625 Movements change 14-15 4.6% Cargo (MT) 207,936 Cargo change 14-15 5.2%
Source: Statistics from Bahrain Airport 2015,ACI's 2014 World Airport Traffic Report.

Passengers	8,586,645
Passenger change 14–15	6.0%
Aircraft movements	100,625
Movements change 14-15	4.6%
Cargo (MT)	207,936
Cargo change 14-15	5.2%

Bahrain International Airport (IATA: BAH, ICAO: OBBI) (Arabic: مطار البحرين الدولي‎‎, maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī) is the international airport of Bahrain, located in Muharraq, an island about 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the capital Manama. It serves as the hub for the national carrier Gulf Air.

The first scheduled commercial airliner to arrive in Bahrain, in 1932, was a flight from London to Delhi operated on a Handley Page H.P.42 aircraft named "Hannibal." The H.P.42 carried only 24 passengers, and the flight from London had taken several days of flying at speeds of 100 miles per hour. Through this regularly scheduled service, Bahrain became established as the Persian Gulf's first international airport.

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command Central African Wing, being designated as Station # 13. It functioned as a stopover en route to Abadan Airport, Iran or Sharjah Airport, in present-day UAE on the Karachi-Cairo route. From 1943 until Bahrain's independence in December 1971, the Royal Air Force maintained a military installation at the airfield known initially as RAF Bahrain and from 1963 as RAF Muharraq. The majority of these facilities were later acquired by the Bahraini flag carrier airline, Gulf Air, while a small portion continues to be utilized by the U.S. Navy as Aviation Support Unit (ASU) Bahrain.