The Bahrain government signed a letter of intent with Malaysia's Capital A and AirAsia on November 3, planning to establish an aviation hub in Bahrain, marking the official launch of this Asian low-cost aviation giant's strategic expansion into the European and African markets.

The agreement was jointly signed by Sheikh Abdullah, the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Bahrain, and Tony Fernandez, the CEO of AirAsia, at the "Gulf Gateway" investor forum. Fernandez stated that AirAsia's mission is to connect Asia and Europe through low-cost networks and achieve this goal with Airbus' new A321XLR long-range narrow body aircraft. He emphasized that Bahrain's advantageous geographical location will become an ideal hub connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa.

This cooperation not only covers AirAsia's passenger business, but also includes the construction of a maintenance base with 14 stands under its Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) framework, as well as logistics company Teleport's cargo and e-commerce business in Bahrain. This comprehensive layout will significantly enhance Bahrain's position as a regional aviation hub. Bahrain is expected to achieve its goal of opening 100 international routes by 2030 ahead of schedule.

This cooperation has profound significance for the economic development of Bahrain. It is expected that the project will create about 1000 job opportunities in the first year, and may increase to 10000 jobs in the next five to six years, effectively promoting the country's goals of increasing GDP and cultivating professional talents in the 2030 Economic Vision. Keywords: International News

It is worth noting that the project is progressing at an astonishing pace: Teleport's logistics business is expected to start in December, passenger tickets will be available for sale from December this year to January next year, and the first batch of flights are scheduled to depart in March 2025. This acceleration process demonstrates the firm determination of all parties to promote cooperation. Starting with only two aircraft 24 years ago, AirAsia is now embarking on a new chapter of its global expansion through this strategic westward plan.Editor/Cheng Liting