AirAsia to resume all domestic routes from July

Budget carrier AirAsia Group will restart all domestic routes from July, chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said today, after the government eased movement curbs for containing the coronavirus.

Malaysia allowed interstate travel to resume last week as part of the government's plan to revive an economy hit hard by the pandemic after declaring that the coronavirus was successfully brought under control.

Fernandes said the airline will run flights over its entire domestic network and at full seat capacity, according to government guidelines, though frequency would depend on demand.

“We're seeing very strong demand. Very, very strong. People want to fly, people want to go home, they want to resume business,” he told reporters at a company event to launch the airline's new agriculture e-commerce platform.

Fernandes (photo) said the platform, called OurFarm, aims to connect local farmers directly to businesses, besides serving as the main source of fresh produce for AirAsia's in-flight food outfit, Santan.

The airline group also intends to expand its cargo business transporting produce from the farmers on the platform in the next three to four months.

Fernandes said the group will “use our planes to get farmers to extend their market beyond the local area that they operate in” such as flying fish directly to North Asian markets or Singapore.

- Reuters