In a Facebook posting today that accompanied an image he uploaded of the official press statement from AirAsia Indonesia informing passengers of the move, Tony Fernandes, who is also the founder of AirAsia, said, “Disappointing to see this. We worked so hard to build KK as a big hub.”

“We were able to do it due to having a low cost terminal. No one seems to understand that AirAsia knows this business better than airports. We built it. We need more low cost terminals.”

According to the press statement, flights from Bali to Kota Kinabalu will be terminated from June 23 this year.

Echoing the misgivings of Fernandes, AirAsia Berhad CEO, Aireen Omar said, “The AirAsia group has put in great commitment in promoting Kota Kinabalu. We worked hard to make the route connecting Kota Kinabalu and Bali a success, offering continuous low fares in addition to substantial marketing and advertising initiatives.”

She said however that stagnant market growth had impacted the airline’s operational costs and revenue was insufficient to offset it.

She added, “The need for a dedicated low-cost carriers’ facility in Kota Kinabalu is inevitable. It is our ambition to make Kota Kinabalu into a regional hub where we can further grow our connectivity and continue to increase our fleet as we forecast 12 million passenger arrivals and departures into Kota Kinabalu per annum by year 2021.”

AirAsia Indonesia made its inaugural Bali-KK flight on July 27, 2013. President Director of AirAsia Indonesia, Dharmadi at the time said the airline was committed to present new attractive routes for guests in Indonesia and Bali with Kota Kinabalu being one of those routes. The flights operated every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.