Afghanistan’s international airline Safi Airways said its inaugural flight to Bahrain received a grand welcome on Sunday after it touched down at the Bahrain International Airport on Sunday night.

Senior officials of Bahrain Airport Company and Gulf Air were at the airport to welcome the debut Safi flight 4Q241/2 that flew from Kabul and touched down in Bahrain at 8.50pm.

Bahrain is Safi's 4th international destination, and the latest addition to its growing network.

The new milestone in Safi Airways’ young, but progressively growing operations, was witnessed by top officials of BAC, Gulf Air and Safi Airways.

The first commercial flight between Afghanistan and Bahrain, using an Airbus A320 with a two-class configuration, is expected to increase commercial ties between the two countries.

Welcoming the flight, Mohamed Khalil VP commercial and marketing BAC said," Safi has made remarkable strides in growing the international airline’s reach. We commend them for stirring the airline to another new milestone and look forward to the growth of the current flight’s frequency and capacity."

Founded in 2006, Safi Airways has since established itself as Afghanistan’s premier international airline offering the highest international safety and service standards.

It aims to make Afghanistan more accessible to over 10 million Afghans living and working in various parts of the world, as well the constantly increasing number of contractors, non-government organizations and external government agencies who are actively involved in the nation’s rebuilding efforts.

"Afghanistan is a country under reform with the help of multi-nation military and civilian efforts. Safi plays an integral part in this renaissance by providing safe, economic and convenient connections to major global business hubs, such as Bahrain," remarked Lloyd Carswell, the chief commercial officer, Safi Airways.

"With this new route, we are providing customers to and from Kabul with even more choice and convenience, when booking flights via Bahrain to and from Europe and the Americas."

"The code share agreement with Gulf Air means we will jointly operate six flights per week between Bahrain and Kabul," he added.

Gulf Air Deputy CEO Maher Al Musallam said Safi’s arrival in Bahrain marks the beginning of an important codeshare relationship between both carriers.

"More importantly, the 6 additional flights between Bahrain and Kabul now offers greater convenience and travel options for passengers from both ends and would allow easy two way connections for Gulf Air passengers flying to/from its major European, Asian and North American destinations," he added. 

Safi Airways is a private airline established by Dubai-based Safi Group. The airline has its headquarters in Kabul and currently has Airbus A320-200 and Boeing 767-200 aircrafts servicing its routes in the region.-TradeArabia News Service