The Philippine unit of Southeast Asia’s largest budget airline said Wednesday it expects domestic operations to return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in the first half of 2022 and international operations to recover by early 2023.
“In April 2022, we are fully recovered as par as domestic [operations] is concerned. International will follow, hopefully first quarter of 2023 we will be able to build more confidence and international travel will be safe and back to normal by first half of 2023,” AirAsia Inc. chief executive RIcky Isla told reporters in a virtual briefing.
Air Asia is operating at 10 percent to 15 percent of pre-COVID capacity for domestic flights and plans to increase its capacity to 20 percent by December this year.
AirAisa Philippines is increasing flights to Cebu, Boracay, Tagbilaran and other major domestic routes by December.
Isla said AirAsia would launch its Manila to Dumagute and Manila to Roxas City flights by first quarter of 2022. “We will be going back this December starting with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said.