Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the load factor for the group decreased to 66%, the airline group said in its quarterly report to the stock exchange.

On a monthly basis, the low-cost carrier said its key operational metrics improved in September compared with July with higher passengers carried recorded in its operations in Malaysia, India and Thailand, which increased by 36%, 79% and 65% respectively.

It said load factor for the group increased seven percentage points (ppts) in September compared with July.

“These improvements highlight a strong upward rebound trend for air travel demand across key markets for the group,” it said.

AirAsia Malaysia operated at 52% of its domestic capacity in September, in comparison with 40% in July as travel demand has been on an upward trajectory since 2Q, with the easing of restrictions on interstate travel.

AirAsia Malaysia achieved a 68% load factor, while carrying close to 1.8 million passengers during the quarter.

While capacity has been reduced in October given the conditional movement control order by the government, AirAsia Malaysia is striving to recover to 60% of its pre-Covid domestic capacity by 4Q.

AirAsia Indonesia’s load factor was down by 36 ppts to 49% in 3Q while AirAsia Philippines operated at only 5% of last year’s capacity in the reviewed quarter.