KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd tumbled to the lowest in almost four years after Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says the country hasn’t agreed to provide financial support to the struggling airline.
“For now, the government has not entered into any agreement or commitment to provide financial support to AirAsia, whether in the form of guarantees, loans, or the injection of public funds,” Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said in a written reply to Parliament on Monday.
Shares in the budget carrier dropped as much as 5.5% to their lowest intraday level since November 2022.
The stock has slumped 75% this year, making it the worst performer in the Bloomberg World Airlines Index. The stock closed 3.3% down to 44 sen yesterday.
Any request for government assistance would be assessed based on the national interest, the state of public finances and the need to protect taxpayer funds, Anwar said.
“The government has been holding talks with companies across the aviation industry as it assesses the impact of the conflict, as it does with other affected sectors.”
The government will continue to monitor these developments closely, Anwar said.
The Iran war has hit AirAsia hard, with the low-cost airline – which doesn’t hedge its fuel costs – posting two straight quarterly losses as jet fuel prices surged.
That’s sparked growing scrutiny of the airline, which has said it’s seeking US$1bil in debt refinancing.
Bloomberg News previously reported that AirAsia had sold six newly-delivered aircraft, a unit of AirAsia had fallen behind on payments to suppliers, and the group was seeking to change the terms of a US$200mil private credit loan.
Last month, co-founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes sought to ease concerns about AirAsia’s financial health, pushing back against the notion of a bailout and the idea that rivals could absorb some of its assets. The airline would emerge from its current crises stronger than before, he said, liquidity was solid, and no aircraft had been repossessed.
For its second quarter (2Q26) ended June 30, of the financial year ending December (FY26), AirAsia posted a RM527.2mil net loss, as revenue was recorded at RM5.09bil.
For the six months ended June, the airline group saw a net loss of RM682mil, with turnover at RM11bil. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on its results back in August, the group said the 2Q26 loss was mainly attributable to higher fuel expenses following a 66% increase in average fuel prices compared with 1Q26, primarily driven by heightened geopolitical tensions arising from the Middle East conflict.
In addition, AirAsia said approximately 30% of the group’s fleet – with 161 operating aircraft as at the end of 2Q26 – was non-operational as part of the group’s ongoing fleet rationalisation and capacity optimisation initiatives to maximise financial performance and operational efficiency. — Agencies
