A New 54-Mile Flight On British Airways In The Middle East

British Airways will add a new 54-mile extension onto its service to Manama, linking the Bahraini capital to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Starting on December 01, 2019, BA will add a tag from Manama, Bahrain to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The “direct” service to Dammam, home to Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, will stop in Manama in both directions.

This route will represent the shortest route in the BA route network, replacing the 62-mile Antigua (ANU) to Saint Kitt’s (SKB) flight that currently holds the distinction of being BA’s shortest flight. While blocked at 50-minutes, expect a far shorter travel time.

With flight times on Gulf Air averaging 15-20 minutes, I’d expect nothing more than a pre-departure beverage.

British Airways will not be selling this flight separately as a Fifth Freedom. That’s probably more a pity for Saudis than Bahrainis…when I visited Manama, I was told that Saudis enjoy escaping from the Kingdom to party and drink alcohol in Bahrain. There’s still Gulf Air and a car ride of about an hour…

Here’s the schedule for the new service:

United Airlines used to fly from Kuwait City to Bahrain…I wrote about that flight here. That 260-mile flight featured a small snack in first class.

United used to fly from St. Thomas to San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 68-mile flight. Flight attendants in first class offered a drink after boarding but remained in their seat for the duration of the 15-minute flight.

CONCLUSION

BA’s new service is now bookable online.

Will you be flying BA to Dammam?