AirAsia axes Darwin flights, adds new Melbourne route

By Andrew Curran.

AirAsia is making changes to its Australian network that it says demonstrates its commitment to the country. Among the changes are a new Denpasar (DPS) – Melbourne (MEL) service and the axing of short-lived flights to Darwin (DRW) from Denpasar and Kuala Lumpur (KUL).

In a March 3 media statement, the low-cost carrier confirmed media reports about the changes, saying it would:

• Start daily A320-200-operated Denpasar – Melbourne round-trips on March 20, 2026;
• Increase the existing four-times weekly A320-200-operated Denpasar – Adelaide (ADL) round-trips to daily flights, effective March 20, 2026;
• Axe the thrice-weekly A320-200-operated Denpasar - Darwin round-trips, effective April 28, 2026; and
• Axe the thrice-weekly A320-200neo-operated Kuala Lumpur – Denpasar round-trips, effective April 28, 2026.

Except for normal seasonal tweaks, existing AirAsia and AirAsia X services between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney (SYD); Kuala and Melbourne; Kuala Lumpur and Perth (PER); and Denpasar and Perth are unchanged.

"Australia is an incredibly important market for AirAsia, and we are continuing to strengthen our network in a disciplined way, utilising our aircraft for popular and high-capacity routes where there is increasing demand,” said AirAsia X Chief Commercial Officer Amanda Woo.

"The scale of what we are building in Australia is significant. We are not just adding seats, we are giving Australians genuinely affordable access to Asia and the world, from four major cities, with more to come.”

Six AirAsia routes focusing on four Australia cities

Originally only a Malaysian carrier, the AirAsia brand now includes multiple airlines based in different countries, each with their own air operator certificates (AOC). Even though their aircraft wear identical livery, three AirAsia carriers fly to Australia, AirAsia and AirAsia X (both using separate Malaysian AOCs) and AirAsia Indonesia (using an Indonesia AOC).

Following the changes, current schedules data show the three AirAsia operators will be operating almost 140 aircraft movements across their six Australian routes for the seven days from June 1, 2026.

Perth receives the most flights, with both AirAsia and AirAsia Indonesia servicing that city. AirAsia Indonesia also flies to Adelaide and Melbourne, while the long-haul operator, AirAsia X flies to Melbourne and Sydney.

The table below summarises AirAsia’s Australian activity over the upcoming southern hemisphere winter

Carrier	City-pair	Aircraft	Frequency
AirAsia Indonesia	Denpasar - Perth	A320-200	4 x daily
AirAsia Indonesia	Denpasar - Adelaide	A320-200	Daily
AirAsia Indonesia	Denpasar - Melbourne	A320-200	Daily
AirAsia	Kuala Lumpur - Perth	A321-200NX	2 x daily
AirAsia X	Kuala Lumpur - Melbourne	A330-300	7 x weekly
AirAsia X	Kuala Lumpur - Sydney	A330-300	6 x weekly

AirAsia's Darwin exit draws government criticism

AirAsia’s decision to exit Darwin comes 12 months after the Northern Territory Government chipped in funds to secure the flights. The airline said that despite operating the two routes and hoping demand would grow to a sustainable level, passenger numbers remained commercially unsustainable.

“The capacity will be redeployed to other Australian destinations, further strengthening AirAsia's commitment to the market,” said Woo.

Jetstar competed with AirAsia Indonesia on the Denpasar – Darwin route. However, AirAsia had the Kuala Lumpur – Darwin city-pair to itself.

Late last week, the Northern Territory Government criticised AirAsia’s decision to quit the city.

“AirAsia hasn’t even given it a year,” Trade, Business and Asian Relations Minister Robyn Cahill told the Northern Territory News. “Everybody tells me it takes two years to bed down a new route like this one and you need at least one year to gauge how things are going. I’d be cautious about ever doing business with AirAsia again.”

AirAsia enters competitive Melbourne - Denpasar route

Meanwhile, AirAsia Indonesia will go head-to-head with Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air Indonesia, Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar on the highly competitive Denpasar – Melbourne city-pair.

The AirAsia flights will add around 130,000 seats annually to the route, which, according to the latest Australian Government data, is the fifth-busiest international air route in and out of Australia.

At the time of publication, neither AirAsia nor the Victorian Government have said whether the Melbourne flights are benefitting from government help.

Photo: AI-Generated

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com