Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), is gearing up for the 2018 Formula One (F1) Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and is finalising preparations to ensure all essential cargo for the race is handled smoothly and successfully.

Hundreds of tonnes of equipment are expected to arrive at BIA through several flights from different countries ahead of the eagerly anticipated event, which takes place from April 6th to 8th at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

BAC has four committees – a Cargo Committee, a Transportation Committee, an Airside Services Committee, and a Terminal Operations Committee – working in unison to facilitate all operations and arrangements relating to the race. The Cargo Committee, which is in charge of handling arrival and departure cargo, is working closely with Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) and Airport Security to streamline the movement of the F1 cargo in an efficient and timely manner.

BAC chief airport operations officer, Michael Hohenberger, said: “The F1 is one of the most popular worldwide events and the most anticipated sports event of the year in Bahrain, and we are looking forward to contributing to its success. More than 1,000 tonnes of race-related equipment, including the cars themselves, spare parts, computer equipment, tools, and thousands of litres of fuel and oil, are expected to arrive in the coming days. During a recent coordination committee meeting with our partners in the private and public sectors, we discussed the preparations required to accommodate the teams, visitors, and cargo arriving for the event. Everything is proceeding as planned, and we are confident that all logistics operations will run seamlessly.”

Hohenberger also commended the impressive coordination between BAC and its partners, which include BIC; the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT); Immigration and Passport Control, Customs Affairs, Airport Police from the Ministry of Interior (MoI); Gulf Air; BAS; and Kanoo Travel, adding to its success story.

A total of 10 cargo flights are expected to arrive during the build up to the race weekend. Upon arrival, the cargo will be screened by customs and stored in the airport’s dedicated 25,000-sq-m Cargo Terminal, operated by BAS, before being delivered to the BIC.

BAS will handle the F1 cargo using modern and specialised ground support equipment, which is designed to move the essential cargo smoothly and safely. Staff with extensive experience in handling specialised cargo movements on all types of aircraft are also on hand to support operations.

Race fans from around the world have already started to arrive in the kingdom for the three-day event, which will be televised to millions of viewers globally. The turnout for this year’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is expected to top the 2017 event, which saw a record crowd of 33,000 on race day and 93,000 over the weekend. - TradeArabia News Service