AirAsia Japan announced Monday (5 October) that it was ceasing operations and laid the blame squarely on the COVID-19 pandemic that has all but shut down most international travel and severely restricted other flights. The company was created in 2014 and had been operating domestic and international flights from its base in Chubu Centrair International Airport.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has left a significant and sustained adverse economic impact on businesses and economies around the world and the company has not been spared,” AirAsia Japan said in announcing the move. “Travel restrictions and the uncertainties it created have severely curtailed demand for business and leisure travel resulting in flight reductions, cancellations and grounding of aircraft. These factors have weighed heavily on the company’s ability to continue operations.”
Representative Director and COO of AirAsia Japan, Jun Aida, said “despite our unrelenting efforts to sustain operations through successive and wide-ranging cost reduction initiatives, we have concluded that it would be an extremely challenging feat for us to continue operating without any visibility and certainty of a post-pandemic recovery path. I would like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to our loyal guests and other stakeholders who have supported us all along. This painful decision to cease operations was decided neither in haste nor taken lightly. It was agreed upon after conducting a thorough business review. Further steps to this decision will be made in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations including the Japan Civil Aeronautics Act. We have cancelled all flights. All affected guests will be contacted via email with further information within the next seven days.”
The cessation only affects the domestic and international flights operated by AirAsia Japan in Japan with letter code DJ and does not affect other flights into and out of Japan operated by other airlines within the AirAsia Group. International services to Japan, from Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines will resume in the future after travel restrictions are lifted and borders with Japan are reopened, the company said.
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