AirAsia reports "solid rebound" towards end of 2020

Aviation Updates Philippines – The AirAsia Group reported what it calls a “solid rebound” towards the end of 2020 after being set back by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp decline in air travel demand for the global aviation industry. 

 Image: AirAsia A320 (Source: AirAsia Group)

In its report for its preliminary operating statistics for the fourth quarter and full year of 2020, the Malaysian-based budget airline group stated passenger traffic improved in December within its subsidiaries compared to September.

Overall the group reported it carried 23 million passengers during the full year of 2020, as the four subsidiaries in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand recovered close to 60% of domestic capacity compared to before the pandemic.

Among the highlights of improvement between September and December were increases in passenger traffic for its Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia based operations. The group reported a 31% increase for Thai AirAsia, double for Philippines AirAsia, and a large increase by 11 times for Indonesia AirAsia.

Of the subsidiaries, Thai AirAsia carried the most passengers during the year 2020 with 9.49 million passengers. The Bangkok-based operations saw the smallest year-to-year declines for its 4th quarter and full-year passenger traffic numbers at 48% and 57% respectively.

The other subsidiaries in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia saw their year-to-year declines for the fourth quarter between 80-90%, and up to 77% for the full year. Philippines AirAsia saw the biggest overall annual passenger traffic decline compared to 2019 by around 77%.

AirAsia Passenger Traffic (October-December 2020 and Full Year Figures)

AirAsia Malaysia

October-December 2020: 834,934 passengers carried (~8.68 million in 2019) - 90% decline

Full Year:  9.11 million (35 million in 2019) – 74% decline

Indonesia AirAsia

October-December 2020: 389,283 passengers carried (~2.24 million in 2019) - 83% decline

Full Year: ~2.18 million (~7.9 million in 2019) – 73% decline

Philippines AirAsia

October-December 2020: 117,948 passsengers carried (2.25 million in 2019) - 90% decline

Full Year: 2 million (8.55 million in 2019) – 77%

Thai AirAsia

October-December 2020: 2.8 million passengers carried (5.42 million in 2019) - 48% decline

Full Year: 9.49 million (22.14 million in 2019) – 57%