KUALA LUMPUR (June 14): AirAsia Group Bhd (AAGB) chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said since the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has been in existence, airport taxes had increased substantially while route clearances had been difficult and capacity restricted.

In a series of tweets from his handle @tonyfernandes this morning, Fernandes took Mavcom to task and said Malaysia was one of the few Asean countries where tourism has declined.

“Hainan island has a population of 10 million. Haikou has a population of 2 million.  Hainan has one of the largest airlines in the world. Hainan has been declared Visa Free. Malaysia is now a hub.  Airlines prefer to do daily.  Malaysia wants more tourists,” he said.

Fernandes said if commercial airlines wanted to fly in routes that would stop tax payers’ money going to subsidised routes that should be allowed.

“Makes no sense to subsidise a route if commercial airlines are ready to do the route,” he added.

Fernandes said AirAsia’s role has been to increase tourism  and connectivity and lower fares.

“We do this by increasing frequency. We have been in business for 16 years and understand demand and supply very well. We would not have gone from 200,000 passengers to 89 million if we did not,” he said.