Gulf Air Holding has acquired a 44% stake in Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last week. BAS has a concession to provide groundhandling services for passengers, luggage, aircraft and catering at Bahrain International until 2034.

Gulf Air's accession to BAS' shareholding comes as it moves ahead with its USD1.1 billion airport modernization program, the first step in the company's strategy to expand its regional and international ground handling services reach.

"In line with the objectives of Vision 2030 and efforts to strengthen the aviation sector as a key driver of the Bahrain economy, this purchase allows BAS to play an even more significant role in BIA’s transformation into a world-class boutique airport," Bahrain's Minister of Transport and Chairman of Gulf Air Group Holding, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, told the BNA news agency. "Consolidating control over Bahrain’s key aviation assets under the umbrella of the Group will improve our ability to implement national strategic plans. For passengers and cargo, it will mean an improvement in the levels of service throughout the airport and a streamlining of procedures."