By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 29: Gulf Air has resumed direct flights from Bahrain to Kuala Lumpur (KL) starting today, ahead of its initial plan to begin the route in 2027.
In a Facebook post, Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Dato Sri Tiong King Sing said this followed a 2024 meeting involving his ministry, Tourism Malaysia, and Gulf Air chief operating officer (CEO) Qasim Ismaeel to discuss efforts to enhance air connectivity between Malaysia and Bahrain.
“During the meeting, Gulf Air also expressed its commitment to the Malaysian market and viewed the country as having strong potential as a gateway connecting Southeast Asia with the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.
“However, at the time, capacity constraints and aircraft deployment issues meant that direct flights to Kuala Lumpur were only planned to begin in 2027.
“Therefore, we also discussed several options, including aircraft leasing, to enable additional capacity to be introduced earlier. We also expressed our hope that at least two to three direct flights to Malaysia could be offered each week in the future,” he said.
Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP and Dudong assemblyman, said that Gulf Air’s decision to resume the Bahrain–Kuala Lumpur route earlier was also influenced by the hosting of the Bahrain Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix, which was relocated to Malaysia, thereby creating a good opportunity to reactivate the route.
He said currently, there are 126 weekly flights connecting Malaysia with the Middle East, involving approximately 41,608 seats.
“With Gulf Air resuming direct flights between Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur, tourists from Bahrain and other Gulf countries now have another direct flight option to visit Malaysia.
“In addition, during the previous meeting with Gulf Air, MOTAC (Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture) also introduced the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) initiative to the airline,” he said.
He added MOTAC also connected Tourism Malaysia with Gulf Holidays, a subsidiary of Gulf Air, to explore opportunities for cooperation in promoting and marketing Malaysia in the region.
“We want promotional efforts to go hand in hand whenever an air route is reopened. This is important to ensure sustained demand and enable the route to grow over the long term.
“In line with Visit Malaysia 2026–2027, we will continue efforts to secure more potentially viable routes in the market, including restoring routes that were previously discontinued and increasing the frequency of existing flights.
“I welcome Gulf Air’s resumption of flights to Kuala Lumpur and hope the route will expand market access from Bahrain and the Gulf region, while also increasing tourist arrivals to Malaysia.”
The route will be operated using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a capacity of 282 passengers.
The inaugural flight is scheduled to depart Bahrain International Airport at 11.30pm and arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 11.50am tomorrow (Sept 30). — DayakDaily
