Flights could start as early as late 2025.
The first A330neo for Air Asia X (Photo: Airbus)
Asia’s largest low-cost carrier Air Asia is considering introducing flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa.
Air Asia’s Chief Commercial Officer Paul Carroll told Tourism Update that the carrier is exploring options for scheduled flights to Cape Town and Johannesburg.
“We are still negotiating this but hope to have the flights in place by the fourth quarter of 2025.” Carroll said. He noted that the Nairobi route will be used as a case study for route expansion into Africa.
“The Nairobi route will test demand for flights into and from Africa,” he said.
Air Asia will launch non-stop flights between Kuala Lumpur and Nairobi on November 15.
The route will be operated four times a week, using an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, seating up to 377 passengers.
The eight-hour service is expected to carry 16,000 passengers between Nairobi and Malaysia in 2024. In 2025, more than 140,000 passengers are projected to travel on this route.
The airline’s new Nairobi route marks Air Asia’s first real foray into Africa. In 2016, Air Asia commenced scheduled services from Kuala Lumpur to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
However, Air Asia terminated the route in 2017, deciding to redeploy the aircraft in more profitable markets.
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