CEO and AirAsia co-founder of Capital A, Tony Fernandes personally sent off the South Korean national football team as they departed for Basra, Iraq, ahead of their crucial FIFA World Cup Qualifier match on 6 June.
A special charter flight, D7256, operated by AirAsia X, took off from Incheon International Airport at 11:00 AM, carrying the national squad and coaching staff — including Head Coach Hong Myung-bo, Park Hang-seo, Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord Rotterdam).
As a lifelong football fan and former owner of Queens Park Rangers, Tony Fernandes was at the airport to offer his personal support and encouragement to the players and coaching staff.
He said, “I’ve always believed in empowering people and helping dreams take flight — whether through football or helping people travel, connecting people to places just as AirAsia has done for the past 23 years. This is a proud moment not only for Korean football, but for Asia. We stand behind the team and wish them the very best as they carry the hopes of a nation into this World Cup qualifier. I’ll definitely be tuning in for the match.”
Tony Fernandes is well known among Korean football fans for his connection to Park Ji-sung, whom he signed to Queens Park Rangers in 2012 and later appointed as AirAsia’s global ambassador in 2014.
Capital A is the parent company of a broad portfolio of businesses across travel, aviation, logistics and fintech — including AirAsia MOVE, the group’s all-in-one online travel agency platform.
The Korean national team is expected to return to Incheon on 6 June on the same charter flight following the match.