Gulf Air finalises the recruitment of Bahraini pilots affected by the closure of Bahrain Air

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air, confirmed today that it had finalised the recruitment of 12 Bahraini pilots affected by the closure of Bahrain Air.

The decision highlights Gulf Air’s on-going commitment of the airline’s Board of Directors led by H.E Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and the airline’s management to filling as many positions as it can with skilled and qualified nationals, with specific focus on aviation specialists such as pilots.

Despite going through a restructuring process that involves a reduction in its workforce no Bahraini pilots have been affected by the process and the airline remains committed to developing a national workforce of industry professionals.

Gulf Air’s decision was welcomed by the Ministry of Labour and a number of MPs who recognised the national carrier’s commitment to Bahrainisation and its continuous efforts to develop a national workforce of aviation professionals as it implements a restructuring strategy to put the airline on a path towards sustainability and create a dynamic and efficient national carrier that will better serve the Kingdom of Bahrain. The airline continues to lead the way amongst its regional competitors in terms of nationalisation with 62% of the airline’s total workforce being Bahraini.

Gulf Air also recently signed two agreements with Tamkeen. The first offers a number of Bahraini cadet pilots training opportunities with the national carrier. This was followed by a second agreement to provide 33 Bahraini graduates of Tamkeen’s aeronautic engineering program two year training job training contracts. Both programs have been structured to prepare the aviation trainees for employment opportunities upon completion of their studies both locally and regionally.