BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT   Passenger Reviews

BAHRAIN AIRPORT customer review :  17 January 2010 by James Wyatt   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Nice size airport, no massive queues in or out. Airside, reasonable array of shops but most items are quite expensive. Clean throughout. Dining options limited and a bit rubbishy. The main upside are lounges which are fantastic. Gulf First is brilliant, as is the Dilmun - great view over the runway, good array of food and bevs. Showers and so on. Not an airport to be for a long layover though - get out and into town if you can.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 2 September 2009 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 4/5

Lovely manageable airport - fast processing on arrival and departure. Perfectly adequate facilities, though could use more seating.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 29 June 2009 : by A Morais

Customer Rating : 4/5

Been to Bahrain many times. Arrival/Departure at Bahrain airport is a pleasant experience. Visit visa formalities are a breeze for GCC expats unlike Dubai. Efficient, polite and friendly staff, makes you feel welcome (unlike some of the other GCC countries). The new duty free is very good too.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 20 March 2009 : by David Walker

Customer Rating : 4/5

Very clean and small airport, handier on shorter transit times, as there is a lack of entertainment, and like many middle eastern airports, seats often vacated with many Asian Labourers on route home, sprawled out over three seats each - who can blame them - its first come first served. If you are any lengthy stop over and flying economy, it may be worth a visit to the Delmon Lounge, you pay for entry, but then everything else is free and its a great place to bed down for a few hours on the couches. If its not busy you wontbe asked to move either. Showers, food, drinks etc - worth the little bit of extra cash!

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 4 October 2008 : by B Peralta

Customer Rating : 4/5

Our 7-hour layover at the Bahrain airport turned out to a refreshing and leisurely. The Transhotel was where we usually stay in the past is under renovation at this time. I therefore checked out this site for ideas about what my husband and I could do during the long layover. However, as we did not have Bahraini visas before our departure from Manila, we had no option but to stay in the airport. Upon arrival, we learned about the airport's pay lounge, the Dilmum. Turned out to be the best decision as it proved to be better than the Transhotel. While there are no flat beds, it has everything else - internet, light snacks, comfortable chairs, reclining chairs, television, a family room and even shower rooms. The lounge is only three years old and boasts of modern interiors and furnishings. It is like a 5-star hotel but minus the beds. Our 7 hours seemed rather short in the midst of all the comfort.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 27 August 2008 : by C Jones

Customer Rating : 4/5

I have been to Bahrain airport both in transit and as a final destination. It is small, but preferable to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Have always found staff there polite and accommodating. Having read previous reviews regarding the toilets - would agree that the ones close to the gates can leave a lot to be desired! However, the bathrooms on the upper level between the restaurant and the bar and clean and tidy. Overall, a far more pleasant experience than either of the airports previously mentioned or Heathrow.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 28 May 2008 : by U Dippel

Customer Rating : 3/5

Been here on transit a few times. Short distances, friendly staff. Big downside: no drinking water is offered, no dispensers are available. When you have to sit and wait 12 hours this is actually pretty ugly. A plus is the readily available Internet connection and the reasonable number of power plugs.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 19 May 2008 : by Geoffrey Stevens

Customer Rating : 4/5

I have travelled to Bahrain a couple of times recently using Gulf Air. I prefer this airport rather than Dubai. Check-in, immigration, security and baggage collection very quick. Also walking distances to gates very reasonable.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 13 May 2008 : by K Fennelly

Customer Rating : 3/5

I have just used Bahrain airport as a transit stop on my way from Istanbul to Dubai and back. The airport a very small and therefore easy to transit through even for very tight transfers. It takes approx 15 minutes to get from your arriving plane to the next gate. A BIG word of warning though. Due to new regulations regarding the carriage of liquids in hand luggage, even duty free purchases must be placed in a sealed clear plastic bag obtained at the time of purchase and presented at the security checkpoint in the transit area. My husband and I just lost 2 litres of spirits because we were not aware of these rules and where not offered sealable bags at the duty free shop in Dubai.

BAHRAIN AIRPORT review : 30 April 2008 : by Leon Swardt

Customer Rating : 3/5

Bahrain airport is modern and fairly clean and well maintained. However, as another reviewer has mentioned, there is not a lot to do. My girlfriend and I recently had to spend 10 hours in transit there and it was not a happy experience.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by David Leston

12 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Bahrain airport is quite small and convenient for transit passengers, but I wouldn't want to have to spend too long waiting there. It has limited facilities and once you've walked around the departures area (takes about 10 minutes), there's little else to do. Don't bother with the duty free shops either, poor selection and highly priced.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Clayton Seymour

5 May 2007   Customer Rating :

Transited through this airport last month on my way to BKK. Very smooth transfer between flights. The airport is small, crowded but clean. Duty Free is more expensive & selection nowhere near as good as DXB, in fact, I could have bought perfume cheaper in LHR. Two drinks in the small, but uncrowded Sky Bar cost about 10 pounds sterling.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Iain Williamson

6 May 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

Agree with all comments about taxi service to Bahrain airport.To be honest, the situation is not acceptable. Taxi drivers will routinely rip off arriving or departing travellers. A taxi drive from the city should actually cost 3 BD. But all of this misses the point. Manama has now an excellent bus & minibus service. I cannot understand why this does not extend to the airport. However, the airport itself is not unpleasant at all: consistently friendly and able staff in all sectors, plenty of seats and well-stocked amenities.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Paul Devine

2 May 2006

For the attention of Mr Ali Bader BD7 is approx £10.50. I bet they were happy to see you. No one gets taxi's here it's too traumatic. There is a phone a taxi service that is metered and 100% not a rip off ask any off the airport staff and they will give you the number. If the government here sorted out the taxi's so that they were the same as Dubai we would all be very happy. Bahrain's a great place by the way, petrol 15p a litre, cigarettes 75p a pack a can of coke 15p.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Abhinav Shrey

15 March 2006

Arrived at Bahrain on 4th March '06 and left for Mumbai the same day. Got to spend some 4 hrs. there. Was quite good but the prices were sky- high. Definitely not less compared to other duty-free establishments. Though it was crowded, the seating facilities were more or less OK. Even then, there were lots of people sleeping on floor. There was just one junk food outlet and there was always a rush there. The best thing was the Ferrari's F1 car they had placed there in preparation for the coming Bahrain Grand Prix. The airport had a lively appearance because of it. There were lots of draws because of it too. There was a rush in the bus too while leaving for getting into my flight for Mumbai. The plane from Cairo had a direct connection to the airport by gangway. The guy at the boarding gate for Mumbai flight needs some coaching in manners!!

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Daniel Schlösser

21 January 2006

Pretty bad airport. It's too small to handle all the flights in the holiday season. You cannot do a lot of things and it's even difficult to find a seat in the departure area. There were only 2check-in counters for a full a320. But I guess that this is more Air Malta's fault than the airports. On the inbound flight lugagge was very slow. It took nearly an hour before the first bags came out and that at 12pm in the middle of the night with no other flight arriving due to a late arrival. There was no information given by the airport to when the luggage will come out. The luggage area was very small. I don't know how they want to handle a few flights at the same time. There are no gangways and you have to either go by foot to your plane or your bussed, but only if you are not traveling Air Malta.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Ashok Thomas

20 January 2006

It may not have all the chrome and glass of nearby Dubai, but Bahrain airport is functionally one of the best in the Gulf region. Reasonably well connected to all parts, the airport though small in size scores big in efficiency. Arrival is relatively painless with a short walk taking you to a row of immigration counters. Staff at these desks are polite - unlike what you find in some other airports in the region. By the time you go through to luggage claim your bags are already there. One sticking point though is transport to the city - only taxis most of whom don't use their meters which sometimes leads to new comers being fleeced. Departure is a little bit more of a runaround. You clear check in and immigration easily enough, and the duty free shopping is great for an airport its size. Business class lounges are all right, but around midnight when a lot of the flights to Asia and Europe depart the place can get to be a bit of a crush. That said you don't get the feeling of being in a cattle market that you get in Doha and Muscat. Clean, neat and efficient, Bahrain is a good place to travel and transit through.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Chris Seal

23 November 2005

Small but check-in was painless (it helps if you are in business class!). BA use the same lounge as Priority Pass which for a Monday afternoon was reasonably busy. Not much food though.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Sahardid Hussein

22 July 2005

A no frill's functional airport. Good thing, it was quite well organized and clean. And the Duty Free selection is excellent. There is one Mcdonald's type place and the fare was OK. The security arrangement's slightly concern me. Checks are cursory and brief, my passport was only glanced at and I was on my way to the gate. Bahrain Airport lacks any kind of public transport and one is totally dependent on taxi's, i think this should be improved, because the fares the drivers will charge are high as there is no competition for them.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Ali Bader

4 June 2005

Bahrain is on the whole a not bad place to use. It does what a airport should do best, get you in and out with the least amount of fuss. It is small, it only has 1 runway and quite compact. On my short flight on Air Arabia from Sharjah (which is a appaling airport) on arrival, I had a short walk to immigration. All the immigration booths were staffed, and there was a short wait. I find the Bahraini's to be a very friendly people and not 'stuck up' like the other Gulf Arabs. He was very polite to me and since I had a British passport and was entited to a 3 month visa, i asked for this and he gave me it. It was the first time I was in the country. The duty free shop is immediately behind immigration control, but it is very very small and from what I could see, there wasn't that many people using it. You go down a ramp into luggage section, my carousel was in the last pier, even that is not a long walk. I walked passed the green control, into the arrival hall, from my impression, it was clean all the way thorough, but i didn't see the toilets to say everywhere was clean. In the arrival hall are a few shops, namely the big telecommunications firm's. There was a Batelco (main operator) and MTC. I opted for MTC, and was met again by a friendly person. What spolied it was of course the transport into town. There is not train or metro system in Bahrain. I had to use a Taxi. Bahraini taxi drivers are really woeful and they ALL refuse to use the meter's. He asked for BD7, which is about GBP5. But I was told the normal fare into town was BD5. So beware, the Bahrain Taxi Driver.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by O Doyle

23 May 2005

Checking in at Bahrain airport is pretty quick compared to other airports I've been to but I find the facilities inside the airport appalling. The toilets are disgusting and never seem to be cleaned, there is a very limited choice of food outlets and non-alcoholic items are extortionately expensive in the duty free. Security is also very lax in a region where security should be paramount.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Abdullah Mutawi

21 April 2005

I have lived in Bahrain for the last four years. The airport is the best functioning airport I have ever used (I travel two or three times per month) with respect to time taken for check-in, immigration and security on the way out and immigration, baggage collection and customs on the way in. No other airport can compete on any single one of these items and the Gulf Air lounge is truly excellent. My only concern is that security at the first and business class check in is very lax. I have been through the metal detector many times where it beeps and I have never been stopped. That, is very scary.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Patrick Van Reusel

11 March 2005

Arrival from Paris on a connecting flight to Bangkok. The airport was ok, nice and clean. The tax free shops a expensive, they charge more then normal retail shops in my country (Belgium: 21% tax) Food and drinks a reasonable priced, they accept Euro currency, change will be given in local currency. Toilets are clean and well maintained.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by M Chaudron

22 September 2004

Flew into Bahrain from Istanbul on 11 Sept 04, then flew to Frankfort on 14 Sept 04. Coming in to Bahrain was quite easy. We were placed on a bus, taken to Passport Control where it took 10 minutes to go through. I had already applied for an e-visa, which made things very easy. Returning out was a different story. The Gulf Air employees were surly and did not keep us updated on flight delays. The airport itself was okay, with just enough services (food, newstands, etc) to keep the wait less than a complete bore. The airport was clean and the facilities seemed adequate to me.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Rob McMurdo

7 September 2004

I agree about all the comments made by previous reviewers of Bahrain Airport , it is a terrible place to spend time if a flight is delayed . However  there is no better airport in terms of function. I challenge anywhere else that allows me to be off and out the airport and home in 30 mins from landing. Departure too is simple and easy although a few well located mobile walkways to gates 17 and 11 wouldn't go amiss. I use the airport 3-5 times a month and its a pleasure  - the only worry is that sometimes my destination is Heathrow!

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Eoin McDonnell

1 August 2004

One of the worst airports I have ever been in. The staff even in the duty free area are intrusive and haughty. The food is atrocious (unless you really like microwaved chicken burgers). Though the airport presents itself very flashily with lots of fake chrome and neon; most of the airport is just plain dirty behind this. What annoys me most is having now spent a total of over 7 hours in Bahrain on various trips; I have yet to find toilet paper, floors devoid of pools and 'mud', or staff willing to do anything about this in any of the bathrooms. In an international airport you really shouldn't have to think ahead to bring paper with you. To be fair, should you manage to notice the bar (if you get bored enough to start reading the elevator buttons), the bartender is friendly and attentive. Though you'll need a coat and preferably a scarf the air-conditioning is up so high.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Brad McAlister

19 June 2004

I agree with E Euwen (18 March) - BAH is dirty, depressing and lacking facilities. Look down the wing towards gate 15 I think it is - drab, miserable and dirty. Travel to/from BIA about twice a month, and things get worse, with the exception of the GF lounge facility - but could that have got any worse !? The staff around the place are Bahrain Airport Services and not GF - a pity, as these BAS staff at check-in and boarding are for the large part offhand, and terrified of making a decision on their own - bureaucracy gone mad. The result is a lousy level of service across many of these areas.  I agree that the tax free prices are not that good - they're getting greedy I guess. I generally prefer smaller airports like BIA, but not when they standards slip to the present levels.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Somnuek Homteeb

31 May 2004

I usually make my trip from Bangkok-Paris via Bahrain all the time. I found the airport itself is clean  modern, well-organized. The duty free shops are ok ,but not much selections to choose from. But one thing that I have seen since last year is the airport speakers - which doesn't work properly at all and I just don't understand how could they let this happen over for years.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by E Euwen

18 March 2004

I passed through Bahrain airport in July 2003 returning from holiday and it was a very disappointing experience. I cannot believe a previous comment that the duty free area is good: the two shops certainly look nice, but they are just one retailer and consequently the prices are very high. The toilet facilities were really dirty, despite the appearance of cleaners, who seemed to be happy to do nothing about it. There weren't very many areas to sit and only 4 places to get refreshments: a burger bar, a coffee shop, a smoky bar and an expensive restaurant. I was extremely unhappy during my stay there, I'm afraid to say.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by Michael McAdam

15 September 2003

One complaint I have with Middle Eastern airports in general and Bahrain in particular is the queue system. One has to queue in front of each individual check in agent. Bahrain is particularly bad for this as there is not a great deal of space to queue in at the check in area. It has also happened during busy holiday seasons, for example, that every check in agent has had a problem and been waiting for a supervisor to solve it. Suddenly none of the queues are moving. Why doesn't the Bahrain airport authority introduce the "wait for the next available agent" system. The same passengers do quite well with it in Europe. It just takes a bit of getting the passengers used to it, but once they understand it gets everyone moving faster (and avoids people jumping from q to q to q), it would undoubtedly be a huge success.

Bahrain Int'l Airport by S Wayne

8 April 2003

One thing Mr Abdulhameed failed to mention was that security checks are performed in a rather intrusive manner of a frisk.