Capital A Berhad (“Capital A” or “the Group”) on 3 November 2025 has 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 to build a major bridge between Asean and one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation regions. The LOI sets out a comprehensive framework for deeper aviation and economic cooperation between Capital A and Bahrain, with a shared ambition to open new inroads between the Kingdom and the Asean region. It outlines multi-faceted collaboration across future airline operations, cargo and logistics, maintenance capabilities and talent development. Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, said:
“With our aviation restructuring soon to be complete, both Capital A and AirAsia are stepping into another bold and disruptive chapter of global growth, and Bahrain will be a powerful launchpad for us in the Middle East. H.E. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications, Kingdom of Bahrain said, “The ambition of Bahrain to diversify the economy according to Economic Vision 2030 gets another boost from this partnership with Capital A and AirAsia.” Under the LOI, AirAsia will explore launching flights from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia to Bahrain over the next five years, with onward connectivity to Europe and the United States.
This expansion is expected to support over 100,000 jobs across the aviation and services ecosystem. Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), Capital A’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) arm, plans to establish a significant presence in Bahrain by constructing a state-of-the art facility including hangars and workshops which can service both narrow and wide body aircraft. Capital A’s logistics arm, Teleport, will position Bahrain as the primary gateway to expand beyond Asia for the first time, with plans to base dedicated freighters in the Kingdom to strengthen connectivity for the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the CIS.
