Malaysia mulls merging AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines, as coronavirus crisis hits industry
- Minister of international trade and industry says the idea was first floated last year, but has gained currency as the pandemic batters the aviation industry
- Malaysia is in the middle of a partial lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19, which has infected more than 5,251 people
Mohamed Azmin Ali, Malaysia’s minister of international trade and industry and the government’s designated second-in-command, said deliberations would soon take place on various options to help out the country’s airline industry.
He said a possible merger between Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia, a private low-cost airline based in Malaysia and operating in multiple countries, was considered even last year.
“That discussion took place even last year, even before this pandemic came. But we need to continue the discussion,” he said in an interview. “We need to see how best we can save those airlines, and it’s not going to be a very simple answer. Things are very bad, the aircraft are not flying. We need to sit down and discuss how to address these issues.”