By J. Jala | 11:46 PM April 17, 2020
AirAsia, Southeast Asia’s largest budget-carrier, announced on Friday the resumption of its domestic flights in several countries where it operates after it halted operations due to air travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an advisory, AirAsia said it is set to resume local flights commencing with Malaysia on April 29, followed by Thailand and Philippines on May 1, India on May 4 and Indonesia on May 7.
The resumption of flights is subject to approval from authorities.
The resumption of services will initially be for key selected domestic routes, which will increase gradually to include international destinations around the network, once the situation improves and governments lift borders and travel restrictions.
The flights are already open for booking via the airasia.com website and our mobile app. Guests may use their credit accounts to redeem for these flights.
Further details on more routes and flight schedule will be announced in the coming weeks, subject to approval from the authorities.
President (Airlines) of AirAsia Group, Bo Lingam said they hope to resume full operations as soon as possible.
“We have undertaken a thorough review of our guest handling procedures both on ground and onboard in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have been working closely with the airport authorities to ensure that all the relevant precautionary measures are in place to ensure a safe, pleasant and comfortable journey for everyone,” he said.
“At AirAsia, the safety and wellbeing of our guests and employees is always our highest priority. We work actively with all our regulators, local governments, civil aviation and health authorities, including adhering to guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to ensure the highest standards of compliance and conformance are in place for every single flight we operate in our network,” he added.
Guests are advised to practise the universally recommended protective precautionary measures including wearing a mask, social distancing and observing high personal hygiene. The aircraft, which are fitted with hospital-standard High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, will also be sent for a thorough disinfection after each flight.
Guests are advised to keep updated via Travel Advisories issued by AirAsia on airasia.com and social media platforms. Guests are also encouraged to check their flight status at airasia.com/flightstatus for live updates given the ever-changing situation at this time. AirAsia News Room
