AirAsia Withdraws From Sydney As Cost Pressures Mount | Aviation Week

AirAsia X plans to leave the Sydney market by ending its Kuala Lumpur service, a route first launched in 2012. The airline will suspend the 4-times-weekly Sydney–Kuala Lumpur operation from Oct. 25, citing rising costs, softer demand and the need to align capacity with its available fleet. The change also supports accelerated retirement of older, less fuel-efficient widebody aircraft. In parallel, AirAsia X plans to increase Perth–Denpasar to 35 weekly flights from December, return Melbourne–Kuala Lumpur to daily service, and raise Perth–Kuala Lumpur to 14 weekly. The move is part of a wider restructuring that seeks up to $1 billion in financing, with MYR700 million in added local facilities. Malaysia Airlines boosted capacity in August 2026.