AirAsia Returns to London, Using Bahrain as Its Bridge Back to Europe
Photo Credit: Tony Fernandes speaking at Skift Global Forum 2025. Skift
Skift Take
This is a smarter structure than its failed gamble in the 2010s – but success may hinge on filling three-leg itineraries in a market already saturated with one-stop Gulf competition.
AirAsia is returning to the UK for the first time in more than a decade, launching daily flights between London Gatwick and Kuala Lumpur from June 26. These will operate via Bahrain as it builds out a new Middle East hub designed to connect Asia with Europe and beyond.
AirAsia ended nonstop service to London in 2012, when high fuel prices and intense competition forced the carrier to retreat from Europe.
Like earlier efforts, the new options will be operated by the low-cost, long-haul AirAsia X division. However, founder Tony Fernandes believes the timing – and the model – are now finally right.
The announcement follows a November 2025 letter of intent between parent company Capital A and Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications to develop Bahrain as AirAsia X’s Middle East hub.
The airline has since positioned the Gulf state as a linchpin in i
