Business aviation will be an important facet of the new Bahrain Airshow, to be staged in the Arabian Gulf state from Jan. 21 to 23, 2010. The show will feature purpose-built chalets where exhibitors will be able to park their display aircraft immediately in front. According to Ahmed Nemat Abdul Rahim of the country’s Civil Aviation Affairs department, business aviation is growing fast there and the government has just approved four more executive charter firms to join long-established operator Bexair. Bahrain is a 30-minute drive from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and offers a convenient gateway for Western companies to access this market. The show is being held at Sakhir Air Base, a private airport that is generally used only by Bahrain’s royal flight department. It is being organized by Civil Aviation Affairs in partnership with Farnborough International, organizer of the UK’s Farnborough Airshow. According to a spokeswoman for Farnborough International, the new Bahrain show is not intended as a direct competitor to the established biennial Dubai Air Show, which will be held about two months earlier from Nov. 15 to 19, 2009.