AirAsia X, the long haul, low fare affiliate of the AirAsia Group has blamed "challenging business conditions" for its decision to
suspend services to Male in the Maldives.
The airline will continue to operate the Colombo sector with four direct weekly flights into the Sri Lankan capital from Kuala Lumpur, beginning March 2.
AirAsia X said the suspension of Male is a move to improve operating cost efficiencies and concentrate capacity in the airline’s key markets of Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
AirAsia X will offer guests who hold bookings to Male after March 1 an option of a full refund, or a reroute to another AirAsia X destination.
Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, said: "Despite our efforts, external factors such as the depreciation of Asian currencies against the US dollar and the chronic lack of hotel room supply in Maldives resulted in cancellation of thousands of bookings by travel operators."
