CapitalA Berhad (Capital A) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications to explore establishing Bahrain as AirAsia’s Middle East hub, marking the beginning of a long-term partnership tobuild a major bridge between Asean and one of the world’s fastest-growingaviation regions.

The LOI sets out a comprehensive frameworkfor deeper aviation and economic cooperation between Capital A and Bahrain,with a shared ambition to open new inroads between the Kingdom and the Aseanregion. It outlines multi-faceted collaboration across future airlineoperations, cargo and logistics, maintenance capabilities and talentdevelopment.

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, said:“This partnership is a game-changer. With our aviation restructuring soon to becomplete, both Capital A and AirAsia are stepping into another bold anddisruptive chapter of global growth, and Bahrain will be a powerful launchpad forus in the Middle East.

“AirAsia has been built on innovation, andwe continue to redefine the low-cost aviation model. We pioneered theestablishment of airlines beyond our home base in Malaysia, expandingsuccessfully into our Asean strongholds across Thailand, Indonesia, thePhilippines and Cambodia. Bahrain continues AirAsia’s innovative and pioneeringspirit of creating new models to carry on our mission of ‘Now Everyone CanFly’, and this is reflected in the areas we are exploring with thispartnership.”

“The future of travel is multi-hub,seamless and borderless. By 2030, in addition to potentially operating aBahrain-based AOC, we expect to operate over 25 daily flights between Bahrain andour Asean megahubs, carrying over 20 million passengers over the next five years.There will be new flows of people, trade, talent and cargo, not just between majorcapitals but into fast-growing secondary and emerging cities where realeconomic expansion happens.”

Dr Shaikh Al Khalifa, Minister ofTransportation & Telecommunications, Kingdom of Bahrain said, “The ambitionof Bahrain to diversify the economy according to Economic Vision 2030 gets anotherboost from this partnership with Capital A and AirAsia. It reinforcesBahrain as a tourism and logistics hub in the Middle East, enhancing itsposition as a strategic connector linking Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africaand the US. The partnership model opens opportunities for both leisure andbusiness travellers. At the same time we create specialised jobs for our highlyeducated Bahraini workforce and give a further boost to the country’s GDP”

Under the LOI, AirAsia will explorelaunching flights from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia toBahrain over the next five years, with onward connectivity to Europe and the US.

The Group will also evaluate theestablishment of a Bahrain-based AOC to operate narrowbody aircraft into keycities in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Europe.

By 2030, AirAsia expects to operate morethan 25 daily flights via Bahrain, carrying over 20 million passengers over thenext five years and contributing an estimated BHD 3 billion ($8 billion) toBahrain’s economy.

This expansion is expected to support over100,000 jobs across the aviation and services ecosystem.

A multi-year talent development programme willtrain and employ Bahraini nationals across pilot, crew, engineering and ground roles,with over 1,000 hires targeted in the first year to support Bahrain’s economicadvancement agenda.

Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), Capital A’sMaintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) arm, plans to establish a significantpresence in Bahrain by constructing a state-of-the art facility includinghangars and workshops which can service both narrow and wide body aircraft.

This facility will empower local Bahraini talentthrough advanced training programmes for both Airbus and Boeing fleet, settinga new benchmark for efficiency and aiming to deliver the fastest MRO turnaroundtimes in the region.

This will enable local and regionalairlines to maximise aircraft uptime and unlock additional revenueopportunities. The establishment of this facility marks ADE’s commitment tomake Bahrain a true centre of engineering excellence in the Middle East.

Capital A’s logistics arm, Teleport, willposition Bahrain as the primary gateway to expand beyond Asia for the firsttime, with plans to base dedicated freighters in the Kingdom to strengthenconnectivity for the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the CIS.

This strategic move will enable Teleport toexpand its international network, and facilitate greater e-commerce flowsbetween Asia, the Middle East and beyond. 

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