Going forward, the airline is continuing to optimise its network and fleet strategy, leveraging the opening up of domestic travel by resuming popular routes while launching new ones to cater to strong pent-up demand. In early January 2022, it launched four new routes connecting cities in East and Peninsular Malaysia: Kuching-Langkawi, Johor Bahru-Bintulu, Penang-Sibu and Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Terengganu. Further enhancing connectivity to East Malaysia, as of 14 February, flight frequencies to Kuching, Bintulu, Miri and Sibu were ramped up to total 319 a week. While continuing with flights to Singapore and Thailand under the respective bilateral government agreements, AirAsia Malaysia also started to connect to Phnom Penh as of 26 January 2022. Meanwhile, the airline is eagerly awaiting the resumption of international travel more generally once the Malaysian Government welcomes all fully vaccinated international travellers, as most other governments in Asean are doing. The outlook is positive, and AirAsia Malaysia hopes to attain pre-Covid capacity on its most popular routes before the end of 2022. Drone Academy (under airasia academy) First of its kind to be certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) as a remote pilot training organisation. Aims to: Launch urban drone delivery for our e-commerce platforms Enable third parties to acquire the skills to operate drones Provide significant new job opportunities for existing and aspiring new pilots The year started with a splutter, as the number of Covid-19 cases surged from December 2020 onwards. Following a short reprieve around March 2021, the pandemic took a turn for the worse again as of April, when the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) severely restricted travel between red zones, including Bangkok. This led to AirAsia Thailand temporarily grounding its fleet between 12 July and 2 September. However, in response to a stabilisation in the pandemic and relaxation of travel restrictions, our associate resumed domestic operations from 3 September onwards. Aviation A i r A s i a A v i a t i o n G r o u p – A i r A s i a T h a i l a n d The year continued to be challenging for tourism, traditionally one of the nation’s major contributors to gross domestic product (GDP), as the prolonged pandemic created a dampening effect throughout 2021. However, the roll-out of the national vaccination programme in February together with various government interventions helped to uplift the hospitality sector. Test & Go contributed to a total of 31,666 out of 44,774 international tourist arrivals in the first two weeks of Thailand’s borders being opened. In terms of international travel, Thailand was one of the first countries in Asean to welcome foreign tourists when it launched the Phuket Sandbox in July. In October, when more than 70% of the population had been vaccinated, the government further eased its travel policies for inbound international tourists by expanding the Sandbox programme to other popular domestic destinations while introducing two other initiatives: Test & Go and the Alternative Quarantine Programme. Test & Go proved particularly popular, contributing 31,666 out of a total of 44,774 international tourist arrivals in the first two weeks of Thailand’s borders being opened to the M A N A G E M E N T D I S C U S S I O N A N D A N A L Y S I S A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 1 0 7 7
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