AirAsia X will launch daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and London Gatwick via Bahrain beginning June 26, 2026. The move marks the carrier’s return to the UK market while also indicating its expansion plans in the Gulf. In addition, AirAsia X confirmed it has cancelled its remaining Airbus A330-900neo order, and will instead focus on long-range narrowbody aircraft.
Bahrain Stopover Strategy
The low-cost carrier announced the new service will operate daily from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to London Gatwick. As Air Asia X holds fifth-freedom traffic rights on the Bahrain-London sector, aircrafts will make a stop at Bahrain International Airport while journeying. Flights will commence using an Airbus A330-300.
In 2025, Air Asia X first indicated its plans to serve the UK via a Middle Eastern stopover and began recruiting staff in Bahrain from December. Speaking at a launch even in Manama, Capital A co-founder and CEO Tony Fernandes described Bahrain as a future “virtual hub”:
“The plan is to have many flights a day from ASEAN into Bahrain, and from Bahrain, we will build an airline that will fly to all over Africa and Europe,” he said.
The project continues over the next eight years as Capital A aim to base up to 100 aircraft in Bahrain. It could serve more than 45 million passengers annually across a projected 120-destination network. To support the expansion, a local unit has been dubbed Bahrain AirAsia, with a chairperson to be appointed shortly.
Capital A’s engineering subsidiary, Asia Digital Engineering, plans to develop a 14-bay maintenance and repair facility in Bahrain. Furthermore, there are talks of a potential partnership with Gulf Air. Meanwhile, the group’s logistics arm, Teleport, intends to establish Bahrain as its Middle Eastern cargo hub.
Widebody Exit and Fleet Shift
Aligning with the airlines plan to phase out widebody operations by 2030, Fernandes confirmed that AirAsia X has cancelled its outstanding order for 15 Airbus A330-900neos.
Instead, the group expects to announce an order for approximately 100 regional jets, with options for 50 more, by March 2026. The airline has noted its considering options from the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 families.
Fernandes also said the airline is firming up an order for 50 Airbus A321-200NY(XLR) aircraft. This follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in July 2025. He expects the A321XLR to replace leased A330-300s on long-range routes. Currently, no airline in the ASEAN region operate the A220.
Lastly, Fernandes said fleet acquisitions would be financed through a combination of sale-and-leaseback arranges and bank debt. The strategy reflects a shift toward greater asset ownership after Capital A exited Practice Note 17 (PN17) financial distress status.
Would you consider a Kuala Lumpur–London flight via Bahrain? Share your thoughts in the comments!
