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AirAsia Malaysia CEO Steps Down As Part Of Group’s Leadership Change

AirAsia Malaysia A320
Credit: Hansen Thedy Wijaya / Alamy Stock Photo

AirAsia Malaysia has announced that its CEO Riad Asmat stepped down from the role on Dec. 31, 2023.

Riad will continue to serve on the airline’s board of advisors and provide consultancy work with the group’s Capital A Aviation Services. AirAsia Malaysia is the parent airline and holds the largest Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) among the AirAsia Aviation Group.

Appointed in January 2018, AirAsia said Riad has “played a crucial role” in navigating the airline through the pandemic, and “positioning it for a promising future in the post-pandemic landscape.”

The LCC has not appointed a successor and said it will provide an update on the “restructuring of the company and personnel within the group in due course.”

Also in December, AirAsia X chairman Mahmood Fawzy Bin Tunku Muhiyiddin left his position Dec. 15 after steering the long-haul, low-cost subsidiary out of the Practice Note 17 (PN17) classification, which denotes a company in financial duress by the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. He is set to join Capital A although the group has not confirmed on an appointment.

Founder Tony Fernandes continues to be the CEO of Capital A, an investment holding company whose brands include the AirAsia Aviation Group.
 

Chen Chuanren

Chen Chuanren is the Southeast Asia and China Editor for the Aviation Week Network’s (AWN) Air Transport World (ATW) and the Asia-Pacific Defense Correspondent for AWN, joining the team in 2017.