Rush for passengers

RECORD numbers of passengers are snapping up tickets for Gulf Air's newly resumed flights to Iraq.Officials said demand for the five times a week service to Baghdad, which starts on September 1, had smashed all previous first week sales figures for a new destination.

Gulf Air chief executive officer Samer Majali said he was delighted to see a high uptake for the flights so soon after the announcement about their resumption.The hard work we put in to start services as soon as we could following the agreement between the Bahrain and Iraq governments is really paying off.

There is a great business potential out there as Iraq's economy bounces back in the coming months and years. I strongly believe we have an opportunity to become the market leader in our operations there.Gulf Air refused to disclose the exact passenger numbers, saying it was confidential.But officials did move to play down safety fears, following a spate of bombings near the Iraqi capital in the last few days.

Gulf Air has looked at every aspect of safety to our flight, crew and passengers and all precautions have been taken, said a Gulf Air spokeswoman.While we are the first Gulf carrier to fly directly into Iraq, other international airlines are operating safely into the country on scheduled basis, something we took into account when deciding to fly there.

Gulf Air flights to Iraq were suspended in March 2003 following the US led invasion of Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.The airline will also launch flights to the Holy Cities of Najaf and Arbil by end of next month.It is also looking to start services to two more destinations in Iraq before the end of the year.

Our service will open up vast opportunities between Bahrain and Iraq as the business communities can take full advantage of the rapid growth Iraq will witness,said Gulf Air chief commercial officer Willy Boulter.We have conveniently timed our flights between Baghdad and Bahrain so that it provides seamless connection to our flights to and from our destinations in Europe in less than two and a half hours via our Bahrain hub.