AirAsia denies Philippine flight grounding claims, slams ‘smear campaign’
The company said the narratives were aimed at limiting competition and consumer choice in the Philippines
AirAsia X has called recent media reports claiming its Philippine operations were being grounded “coordinated and sensationalised” and part of a “deliberate smear campaign”.
In a statement, the airline group said the smear campaign had long been occurring in an attempt to undermine fair competition in the Philippine aviation sector.
“Such narratives serve only the interests of those seeking to limit consumer choice and create conditions that could lead to a monopoly in the market,” it said.
“A monopoly benefits no one except dominant market players. For travellers, it often results in reduced competition, fewer choices and significantly higher airfares.”
Philippine news outlets reported on Wednesday that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines had issued a cease-and-desist order to the airline to halt operations at its airports over an outstanding bill of 270 million pesos (US$4.3 million).
However, the group later clarified that all its Philippine flights were continuing as scheduled.