Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), held a workshop for the airport’s stakeholders to discuss the National Operations Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) platform, which aims to ensure a smooth transition to Bahrain International Airport New Passenger Terminal Building. In attendance were senior officials from the Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), other government authorities, Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Services (BAS), Airlines, Bahrain Airport Company management, and other representatives of key organisations operating at BIA.

The first in a series of workshops that will take place prior to the opening of the New Passenger Terminal Building, it aims to inform stakeholders of the facilities, systems, processes, and procedures that are part of the Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP) currently underway. Stakeholders were invited to evaluate the inherited processes and discuss methods of elevating the current levels of efficiency to create a more streamlined passenger experience at the airport.

BAC Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah said: “BAC’s objectives are to enhance the airport’s overall experience for the public and increase its contribution to the local economy, and 2018 is going to be a milestone year for us in achieving those objectives. It is essential that we ensure operational readiness and alignment among the airport community, and this can only be achieved by openly exchanging information and discussing critical topics with our partners. These workshops will serve as an effective communication platform that will create alignment over time. The eyes of the aviation industry will be looking at BIA’s modernisation program and its successful operations, which makes this not only an airport project, but a matter of national importance as well.”

The workshop also highlighted the new and advanced technology that will be used in the terminal, the new fully-automated baggage handling and screening systems which will further improve departing and baggage transfer processes, and the Airport Operations Centre (APOC) which will take the airport to new operational levels.

The workshop follows the recent establishment of the National ORAT Steering Committee, which was formed to operate the new state-of-the-art Passengers Terminal Building at BIA, as per Royal Order (10) for 2017, issued by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the BDF and First Deputy Prime Minister.

Source: BNA