AirAsia stays course on Bahrain hub as Iran war clouds aviation growth plans

The low-cost carrier’s commitment, while conditional on how the conflict evolves, stands out as most global airlines scale back routes, delay launches and reroute flights to avoid the Middle East.

Samuel Wendel

Apr 6, 2026

Malaysia’s AirAsia said on Monday that it is still planning to launch a new hub in Bahrain by June, even as the ongoing Iran war continues to disrupt one of the world’s busiest international air corridors and forces airlines to rethink regional expansion.

The low-cost carrier’s commitment, while conditional on how the conflict evolves, stands out at a time when most global airlines are scaling back routes, delaying launches and rerouting flights to avoid the Middle East. For now, AirAsia appears to be bucking that trend, offering an early signal of how carriers are balancing short-term disruption with longer-term bets on the........

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