Bahrain Airport Company will be organising the first ever 'Routes Mena' event in the kingdom in November next year.

Routes Mena is part of the global Routes portfolio organised by UBM Live, which includes World Routes; Routes Asia; Routes Europe; Routes Americas; Routes CIS/Silk Road; Routes Africa and Routesonline.

The inaugural event will see route development professionals from across the region gather to discuss air service development to, from, and within the region, said the organisers.

Bahrain has a history of aviation that dates back to the early 1920's. Historically it has acted as a gateway between the East and West providing a natural transit destination for early trade routes and a strategic hub for the Northern Gulf.

In addition to benefiting from a significant strategic location, the kingdom is also rich in history and culture with some historical sites dating back more than 4,000 years.

"It is with great anticipation that we welcome the Routes Mena 2015 to the Kingdom," stated Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, the chief executive officer, Bahrain Airport Company.

"We are delighted to be bringing this prestigious event to Bahrain where we can show our visitors, first-hand the warm, welcoming culture of our people and experience the efficient and friendly airport which makes this country proud," he stated.

"Securing this prestigious inaugural event is the result of the collective efforts of our partners and stakeholders and we are confident that this world-class forum will reiterate Bahrain's role as an aviation hub in the MENA region and highlight our deep-seeded aviation heritage," observed Al Binfalah.

Katie Bland, the director of 'Routes for UBM Live' pointed out that the Mena region had become very important from an aviation perspective.

"It represents nearly 11 per cent of global aviation - about double its share from a decade ago - driven by global hub strategies in the Gulf and liberal aviation access policies," he stated.

"We're delighted that Bahrain Airport Company is hosting our very first Routes Mena event dedicated to air service development to, from and within the region and look forward to working with their team," he added.

Bahrain Airport Company is currently in the design phase of a significant modernisation programme for Bahrain International Airport with construction due to commence in the second quarter of 2015.

Bahrain enjoys an open skies policy and offers unrestricted access to a catchment area of more than 5m that extends to the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.-TradeArabia News Service