MANAMA: Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air is counting on Middle East routes to help drive passenger growth and turn around the airline, its deputy chief executive said yesterday.

The carrier is adding eight destinations to its network this year, mostly to Middle East cities, as part of a strategy to fly to over 60 destinations by 2023.

“At the moment we want to re-establish and affirm our position in the Middle East,” Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi said.

Flights to other cities outside the region are planned for following years, although a decision on which exact destinations and when they would be launched has not been made, he said.

Mr Al Alawi declined to disclose when the airline was targeting profitability but said that it was meeting its internal targets on time.

The airline wants to increase origin and destination traffic by carrying more tourists heading to Bahrain, he said, adding that the recent oil discovery would see an increase in corporate travellers to the country.

Mr Al Alawi said that the Formula One Grand Prix held every year in Bahrain and heritage and adventure tourism made the country an attractive destination for tourists.

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