Thai AirAsia (TAA) has announced mass layoffs after struggling with the impact of the pandemic, despite the country's reopening on Nov 1.
Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation (AAV), the largest shareholder of TAA, made the announcement to TAA's employees on Wednesday. He said that the aviation outlook remains unstable, prompting the company to reduce its fleet size next year and use layoffs and extended furloughs.
TAA announced on Monday that its fleet size would be cut from 60 to 54.
Mr Tassapon estimated that the domestic market should fully recover by mid-2022, while international flights might gradually return to 20-30% of 2019 levels.
"It's hurtful to take such a decision, but it's based on reality which we cannot answer as to when the situation will improve. We have to wait until revenue from international routes comes back and that will depend on the entry regulations of Thailand and overseas destinations," said Mr Tassapon.
