AirAsia grounds 90% of jets amid virus surge

AirAsia says it has grounded around 90% of its fleet of over 200 planes.

The move comes amid a resurgence of Covid-19 outbreaks in the region.

Malaysia, the airline's largest market, is currently under lockdown.

The AirAsia unit in the country says demand could recover from August, allowing it to restore services to 17 domestic airports by October.

A full return to pre-crisis demand levels across Asia is not expected until around the third quarter of 2022.

AirAsia Group last month reported its seventh straight quarterly loss as a result of the crisis.

Passenger numbers in the quarter to the end of March were down 90% on the year.