AirAsia Japan closure has cost group $80 million so far

AirAsia Japan’s closure has cost the Malaysia-based AirAsia Group nearly $80m over three quarters. AirAsia Group owns 48.9% of the joint venture carrier, which ceased operations in October and filed for bankruptcy in the following month. AAJ commenced bankruptcy proceedings by a court order issued on 24 February, AirAsia Group said in a same-day Bursa Malaysia disclosure. As a result of the proceedings, the low-cost airline group recognised a loss of over $74m in the second half of 2020, “due to financial assistance [to AAJ] in the form of intercompany transactions and loans being written off as these amounts were deemed to be irrecoverable”. AirAsia Group also incurred nearly $5.2m in expenses related to aircraft de-registration, in Q4 2020 and the current quarter, to move three aircraft from Japan to Malaysia. The group states: “Further announcement(s) will be made in due course on the particulars of claim and financial impact to [AirAsia Group], if any, under the bankruptcy proceedings.”<br/>