Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air has announced that it is restarting its operations to the south Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram with five weekly flights starting from December 15.

The Gulf Air move reinforces the airline’s strategy of strengthening its core network and maximizing convenience for its customers while providing business links to Bahrain that support economic growth, said a statement from the airline.

The Bahrain carrier has been flying to India since 1960 and Thiruvananthapuram is the fifth destination in India to be added to the airline’s existing network, increasing Gulf Air’s capacity to the country by 10 per cent from 45 to 50 weekly flights from Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi and now Thiruvananthapuram.  

Gulf Air’s acting CEO Maher Salman Al Musallam said, "As Gulf Air’s emergence from the restructuring process fast approaches, our focus is now firmly fixed on the future as we transition from a period of restructuring to one of development."

"Our decision to resume flights toThiruvananthapuram emphasizes the importance we attach to India, one of our key markets, and our business strategy to concentrate on high-demand point-to-point routes to ensure our core customer base is served effectively and efficiently,"

The flight GF0062 will take off from Bahrain on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1.30pm and arrive in Thiruvananthapuram    at 8.35pm, while on return GF0063 will leave Thiruvananthapuram at 9:20pm and arrive in Bahrain at 11.45pm.

On Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays the flight GF0060 will depart Bahrain at 2:45am and arrive in Thiruvananthapuram at 9:50am, while on return, GF0061 will leave the Kerala capital at 10:45am and land in Bahrain at 1.10pm (local time)

Gulf Air’s acting chief commercial officer Ahmed Janahi said, “We are delighted to be resuming operations to Thiruvananthapuram. I am sure this will be welcomed by the Indian community living and working in Bahrain and the surrounding GCC countries as well as the business community for whom the direct flights will provide a great advantage.”

As one of the Middle East’s largest network carriers, Gulf Air is well-positioned to connect India to several key destinations in the Middle East and Europe with excellent connectivity within 3 hours through its efficient hub in Bahrain, he added.-TradeArabia News Service