Thai AirAsia (TAA) is dubbing the latest outbreak the worst crisis for aviation in Thailand as airlines face more pressure than during the lockdown last year.
“Travel sentiment has plunged lower than last year. This is different this time because people are voluntarily skipping their travel plans even without a nationwide lockdown order from the government,” said Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation (AAV), the largest shareholder of TAA.
TAA’s domestic flight numbers shrank by more than 50% as it had to merge and cancel many flights, with the average load factor taking a nosedive this month.
He said some flights had only 20-30 passengers, a sharp contrast to the resurgent market two months ago.
“We were just rebounding from the…
