AirAsia not giving up on obtaining operating license in Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia will not give up on obtaining a license to operate in Singapore, despite being rejected three times, said Capital A’s Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

"Don't block me in Singapore," he said.

"We applied for a flight license three times, and three times we were rejected. We have airlines in Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

"We can get a license in other ASEAN countries, but Singapore is blocking us all the time because they are protecting their airlines," he said after the grand launch of Asia Digital Engineering’s (ADE) 14-line maintenance, repair, and overhaul hangar at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today.

Commenting on his LinkedIn post about SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), Tony said he had no problem with the company coming to Malaysia.

SIAEC recently signed a 15-year agreement with Khazanah Nasional’s subsidiary, Impeccable Vintage Properties, to lease two hangars at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang.

"The important thing is that SIAEC is fine here, we support it... it's good for the country, good for investment, and good for workers who want to leave (their previous companies).

"If they can get a better job, they should go. This is a free market.

"My issue is why won’t Singapore give me a license? That's my problem," he said.

Source: Berita Harian