AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes strafes Adelaide Airport over ‘high charges’

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has hit out at Adelaide Airport over “high charges,” warning routes won’t get off the ground.

A plane takes off from Adelaide airport. Picture: AAP

AirAsia’s high profile owner Tony Fernandes has taken aim at Adelaide Airport over “high charges” that he says could prevent the Southeast Asian-based airline from flying between the city and Kuala Lumpur.

In a post on LinkedIn titled “Adelaide — We Need Support”, Mr Fernandes said Australia was “very special to us with Gold Coast the first long-haul route for AirAsia X”.

“Adelaide has so much potential in being one of the next main cities in Australia and we are working hard to bring low-cost travel to the region but it has been challenging in line with high airport charges at Adelaide Airport,” he wrote.

“We will not be able to operate with the current exorbitant charges that remains to be one of the highest compared to similar airports on the Gold Coast and even the likes of Melbourne Tullamarine.”

He went on to say as a low cost carrier, AirAsia had a “firm grip on internal costs, but also needed to tightly control the variables”.

Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

“A Kuala Lumpur-Adelaide route is what we are looking for and we are happy to take this plunge provided we receive the relevant support,” said Mr Fernandes.

“It is unreasonable to expect AirAsia to pay above average airport charges while Adelaide Airport remains operationally congested with only a single international baggage belt and lengthy queues at security screening.”

A spokesman for Adelaide Airport said they would welcome a new low cost service between the city and Kuala Lumpur, but were “also mindful of supporting their long standing customer Malaysia Airlines”.

“We offer a competitive pricing regime for airlines, and have had significant recent success in attracting major carriers such as China Southern Airlines, Fiji Airways and Qatar Airways to Adelaide,” he said.

“We have significant available capacity through the day but acknowledge some increasing operational challenges in peak periods when services are off-schedule.”

He said that was why Adelaide Airport had begun an expansion of the terminal to significantly upgrade international facilities.

“This would include more space for immigration, an additional baggage belt, and more retail and dining facilities including upgraded duty free,” the spokesman said.

An AirAsia spokesman said negotiations were continuing between the airline and Adelaide Airport.