AirAsia suffers painful loss as COVID-19 crisis bites

Airline says travel restrictions collapsed demand for air travel

Southeast Asia's biggest low-cost airline, AirAsia registered a net loss of 803.85 million ringgit for the three months to March 31, compared to a net profit of 96.09 million ringgit for the same period last year. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)

P PREM KUMAR, Nikkei staff writer

July 6, 2020 20:54 JST

KUALA LUMPUR -- Low-cost Southeast Asian carrier AirAsia Group reported a 804 million ringgit ($188 million) first-quarter loss on Monday, reversing a 96 million ringgit profit for the same period last year.

Founded by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes, AirAsia attributed the loss to "collapsed demand for air travel" in February and March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.