Gulf Air in spat with ministry

The future of Gulf Air, once the biggest Gulf airline and the pride of Bahrain, hangs in the balance. Prospects for the airline, which is owned by state fund Mumtalakat, have often hit the headlines as it struggles with competition from regional players such as Emirates and Qatar Airways, despite several management changes and restructuring. On 25 January, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News (GDN) reported that the government has four proposals for its future: dissolving the airline, selling it and launching a new national carrier, downsizing it or maintaining it in its current form with government support.