The Gulf Air Group has announced the retirement of its CEO ahead of Bahrain’s National Day celebrations on December 18.

The country’s national carrier has announced its CEO, Captain Waleed Al Alawi, will step down from his post, effective January 31. A successor has yet to be announced.

An aviation industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, Al Alawi has been CEO of Gulf Air since 2022. Prior to his appointment, he served as Acting CEO for more than two years, seeing the carrier through the COVID-19 shutdown of the aviation industry.

Al Alawi joined Gulf Air as a pilot in 1980 and then worked in the Bahrain Royal Flight for 18 years before returning to the carrier in an administrative role in 2017.

Al Alawi’s news comes months after another CEO of a Gulf-based carrier stepped down from his role, with the former Qatar Airways head, Akbar Al Baker, announcing his retirement in October after 27 years as CEO, with Badr Mohammed Al Meer taking over the helm.

(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Daniel Luiz)

Bindu.rai@lseg.com