AirAsia's Philippines unit to cease flights to Mainland China in the fourth quarter

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

On 10 September 2024, AirAsia Philippines announced that it would stop all flights from Manila to mainland China this year due to low demand for services, and instead focus on other destinations.

Ricardo Isla, CEO of AirAsia Philippines, said that the airline's sales have not yet returned to 2019 levels, especially the sluggish sales of flights from Manila to China.

According to Isla, starting from the fourth quarter of this year, the airline will no longer have flights to China because "profitability must be ensured."

Public information shows that due to the restrictions on the proportion of foreign investment in the Philippines, AirAsia Philippines is a joint venture airline established by the Philippine government with Malaysia's AirAsia after acquiring Zest Air.

At the beginning of March 2023, AirAsia Philippines gradually restarted weekly scheduled flights to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macau.

At that time, Isla said that "China is opening its borders to the world, and a new era of tourism, trade and commerce is about to emerge. The last piece of the puzzle to complete the recovery of the aviation industry is here."

According to statistics from AirAsia Philippines, before the epidemic, the low-cost airline transported more than 750,000 passengers to and from China.

In June 2024, the airline first announced that it would suspend flights from Manila to Shanghai and Guangzhou. After this official announcement, it means that flights from Manila to Shenzhen will also be officially suspended in the fourth quarter of this year.

Isla pointed out that in 2019, the Chinese market accounted for 30% of Philippine AirAsia Philippines' passenger volume but now the company is focusing on developing markets such as Japan and will put its capacity on routes to Naha and Chubu Centrair.

He explained, "This is more beneficial to the Philippine tourism industry."

However, AirAsia Philippines is still operating flights to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and there are still airlines from China and the Philippines such as Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Cebu Pacific flying between mainland China and the Philippines.