Tan Sri Tony Fernandes
SEPANG: Capital A Bhd
, the parent company of AirAsia, has expressed interest to operate in Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (LTSAAS) in Subang soon with a new type of passengers targeted at the airport, in line with the recent proposed Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) announcement.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Tony Fernandes said AirAsia Aviation Group has applied for certain numbers of flights to be in LTSAAS and the target passengers would be different, considering the growth of the group.
"You can 100 per cent guarantee that we will be there and I think it is a visionary move,” he told reporters after the launch of "Ask Bo” virtual assistant here today.
He said the initiative taken by the government to transform LTSAAS into a regional aviation hub through the proposed SARP has been a very bold, brave and right decision for the aviation industry in Malaysia.
"LTSAAS is a very emotional airport for me and I always have said that it is a waste of an asset, in which big city like Kuala Lumpur should have an airport like this,” he said.
On Monday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook announced that the SARP proposed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd has been approved by the Cabinet on Feb 2 after careful consideration.
Among the main changes proposed in the plan are the reintroduction of scheduled passenger flights and belly cargo flights by using narrow-body jets up to the size of A320/B737 or equivalent aircraft at LTSAAS or better known as Subang Airport.
LTSAAS will be transformed into a regional aviation hub with a maximum capacity of eight million annual passengers, in addition to generating thousands of high-value job opportunities for Malaysians.
Meanwhile, Tony said he also hoped for China to remove the need for COVID-19 RT-PCR test soon after the recent reopening of the border, which would be the next boost for the group as the demand over the last three days had been very strong.
"The other push factor from China is the logistics, including normal cargo, e-commerce and low-cost courier,” he said.
According to international news reports, AirAsia plans to take the lease of 15 additional aircraft to meet travel demand from China after it has reopened its borders. - Bernama
