Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, and Tamkeen have welcomed the fifth group of seven all-Bahraini female cabin crew to the airline.

In a graduation ceremony held recently at Elite Resort & Spa, attended by family members of the graduates, Gulf Air senior management and Tamkeen management, the girls received their honours.

This joint-initiative run by the airline company and Tamkeen encourages more Bahrainis, particularly females, to join the national carrier in key customer-facing positions such as flight crew by offering flexible scheduling benefits.

Samer Majali, chief executive officer, Gulf Air, said: “We now have 36 Bahraini female cabin crew members flying with us. Since we launched this programme two years ago, the feedback has been positive and I look forward to the graduation of many other groups in the coming months.”

“The induction of Bahraini cabin crew underpins one of the key components of our strategy of providing passengers with warm and friendly traditional Arabian hospitality on which Gulf Air’s reputation is built. And who could be better at this, than our national workforce, who intrinsically understands our core values and ethos,” he said. “By beginning their career with Gulf Air, these girls will be setting an example for other Bahraini women.”

“Cabin crew are not only the face of Gulf Air as they hold one of the most important customer-facing positions in the company but are also the ‘flying ambassadors’ of Bahrain, promoting the country across our network,” Majali added.

Dr Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al-Shaikh, vice president for enterprise and human capital development at Tamkeen, said: “The graduation of these young and ambitious Bahraini women is demonstrative of Tamkeen’s continuous efforts to develop the kingdom’s human capital according to labour market needs, by enabling them to have value-added employment opportunities and further increase their contribution to the national economy.”

Recognising Bahrain’s traditional family values and the importance placed on home life, Gulf Air has developed flexible scheduling benefits for Bahraini females joining as flight attendants, a statement said.

The new recruits can opt to fly turn-around flights that do not require overnight stay outside Bahrain. However, they have they also have the option to fly the airline’s entire network if they wish.

Gulf Air is the first airline in the GCC to offer such a scheme, the statement said.

The airline is still accepting applications from prospective Bahrainis to join as cabin crew, it said. – TradeArabia News Service