AirAsia boss calls on governments to be ‘brave’ and open borders

BBC: The boss of one of Asia’s biggest airlines has called on governments in the region to open their borders for the sake of people’s livelihoods.

“Politicians have to be brave,” AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes told the BBC.
Cross-border tourism, which accounted for 12 percent of South East Asia’s GDP in 2019, was hit hard by COVID-19 rules.

He was speaking at the Singapore Airshow, which returned this week to the city-state after two years of tough travel restrictions.

“It’s time to take a deep breath and assess the facts... Having borders closed isn’t logical anymore because Omicron is in society,” the Malaysian low-cost carrier’s chief executive said.
“Now we have to protect people’s livelihoods and economies,” he added.

Like most airlines around the world, AirAsia reported a massive loss in 2020. But while low-cost international carriers in Europe and North America enjoyed a rebound in 2021 as travel rules were relaxed, Asian airlines slumped even further. 

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Asia-Pacific was the only region in the world that failed to register any significant improvement in air traffic by the end of 2021.
“To me, opening our borders means no quarantine, no form-filling, no constant testing,” Fernandes said.

“It’s time to move on and get on with our lives,” he added. Meanwhile, AirAsia moved into new businesses, including food delivery, digital banking and e-commerce, while many of its planes remained grounded.

To reflect this change the airline’s parent company last month changed its name from AirAsia Group to Capital A.
But Fernandes denies the shift into different areas shows a lack of confidence in AirAsia’s core business.

“People will always need to fly. At the moment people are desperate to spend a weekend in Phuket or Langkawi or wherever. When borders fully open, there’s going to be a lot of ‘revenge travel’.”

“I believe this is the beginning of the end. I’m aware I’ve said that a few times before, but I do believe we’re on the road to recovery.”