DHL introduces direct Bahrain-Jeddah flight

Apr 12, 2017: DHL Express has launched a new daily flight connecting Bahrain Hub with Jeddah, one of its gateways in Saudi Arabia's western region.

The new route will see DHL Express fly seven times a week between Bahrain International Airport and Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, with each Boeing 757 flight carrying up to 22 tons of cargo.

DHL becomes the first express provider to offer direct movement and clearance of non-document goods between Bahrain and Jeddah, reducing transit times by anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for customers shipping to Saudi Arabia's Western Provinces.

Nour Suliman, CEO, DHL Express Middle East and North Africa, said, "Bahrain forms a key node connecting Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia to other markets like China, the Kingdom's top export and import destination; and the European Union, where air freight volumes have grown by more than 50 percent since 2011. This new route has allowed us to reintroduce Worldwide Parcel Express services after 8 years, at a time when e-commerce and growing regional affluence are causing demand for cross-border consumer shipments to literally soar."

This brings the total number of flights into Saudi Arabia up to 21 per week, with the Bahrain-Jeddah connection further enhancing the transit time at Saudi Arabia's main express gateway in Riyadh. The new connection allows DHL customers to order pickup of non-document shipments as late as 5 pm for same day dispatch, with DHL handling all package movement and clearance from the point of pickup.

The route also supports growing volumes of repaired and returned goods between Saudi Arabia and producers in United Arab Emirates, USA and the European Union, primarily in the energy, technology, and life science sectors.

Bachi Spiga, head of operations, Middle East and North Africa, DHL Express, said, "Imports and exports to and from Saudi Arabia have been increasing in the past few years and show no signs of cooling off, particularly with the US and within the Middle East and North Africa region. This new route will provide much-needed delivery capacity and agility not only to Jeddah and the Western Provinces but also indirectly to the many other Gulf states for which Saudi Arabia acts as a trade hub."

"This investment is timely and supports Saudi Arabia's transformational blueprint known as Vision 2030, of which one of its pillars is to transform the strategic location of the Kingdom into a global hub connecting three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa; and turning the Kingdom into an epicenter of trade and logistics, and a gateway to the world," said Faysal El Hajjami, country general manager, Saudi Arabia, DHL Express.