Bahrain Air restarts Kuwait flights after 11-mth lull

Bahrain Air, the Gulf state’s second national carrier, will resume its flights to Kuwait on 26 Jan, nearly a year after it suspended the route amid political unrest in its domestic market. The airline, which suspended the route in February last year, will operate four flights a week to the Gulf state, leaving Bahrain at 8.35am and from Kuwait at 18.55pm. Flights will be on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and will continue from Kuwait to Beirut and back, the carrier said in a statement on Tuesday. “Kuwait is an important destination in its own right,” said Richard Nuttall, CEO of Bahrain Air, in an emailed statement. Thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets in February and March last year demanding curbs on the power of the ruling Al-Khalifa family and an end to perceived discrimination. The Gulf state in March imposed martial law and called in troops from neighbouring Gulf countries in a bid to quell thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators, inspired by Arab Spring protestors in Tunisia and Egypt. The state-backed carrier suspended several routes, including those to Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, in the wake of the unrest.