Capital A calls for further easing of Covid-19 restrictions

Two senior executives involved with the AirAsia Aviation Group have called for Covid-19 travel restrictions to be further eased, as Thai AirAsia X names a new chief executive officer. Colin Currie, commercial president of AirAsia Aviation Group parent Capital A, and Bo Lingam, AirAsia Aviation Group chief, contend that coronavirus testing regimes have to be further eased, particularly in the group’s home country of Malaysia. “The majority of the world is now fully vaccinated and a sizable portion has also received booster shots,” says Currie. “Data in the region also shows that the chance of hospitalisation from Covid-19 for those fully vaccinated is very small.” He acknowledges the first steps Southeast Asian governments have made in opening borders after being all but entirely closed since early 2020. Still, he believes that testing requirements, extra paperwork, and coronavirus-related travel insurance still pose “onerous deterrents” to travel. Lingam observes that in many Asian countries the cost of Covid-19 tests can exceed the cost of some tickets offered by AirAsia. Lingam also takes aim at the bureaucratic hurdles travellers in the region face.<br/>