AirAsia Japan’s future hangs in the balance

AirAsia Group has tentatively approved the closure of its AirAsia Japan (DJ, Nagoya Chubu) unit, with a formal announcement expected around October 5, the Nikkei Asia Review has reported citing a source close to the company. AirAsia Group Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said during a media briefing that the final decision would be announced shortly and admitted that the group was looking at all options, including the closure of its Japanese subsidiary. The news confirms earlier reports by Nagoya TV, which said that the low-cost carrier was considering permanently suspending operations instead of resuming them, as planned, later this month. The Japanese carrier is the smallest in the AirAsia Group with just three A320-200s. It has been largely dormant since April 2020, when the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan grounded its operations. It restarted its three domestic routes from Nagoya Chubu (to Sapporo Chitose, Fukuoka, and Sendai) in early August 2020 but suspended them again in September due to ongoing epidemic concerns and low demand. The carrier’s only international route, to Taipei Taoyuan, has been inactive since April. AirAsia Group holds a 66.91% stake in AirAsia Japan (but with only 33% of voting rights), with the remainder owned by various local investors. In August, AirAsia Japan dismissed rumours about its Malaysian parent’s impending exit.