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AirAsia is set to drop its Darwin services and redeploy capacity to grow other Australian routes.
The low-cost airline group will end its flights from the NT capital to Bali and Kuala Lumpur on 28 April citing “commercially unsustainable” passenger numbers, and will instead ramp up flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide.
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A new service will launch from Melbourne to Bali on 21 March, adding 130,000 seats on the route, while Sydney and Melbourne are now seeing daily Kuala Lumpur flights with premium cabins and flatbed seating options.
Perth will see four daily year-round Bali flights and double daily services to Kuala Lumpur, while from 21 March Adelaide will go from four weekly Bali services to seven, increasing to 10 during peak periods and creating more than 56,000 seats per year.
“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 Amanda Woo, chief commercial officer of AirAsia X.
“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.”
The suspension of Darwin flights comes around a year after their launch, with Darwin-Bali having commenced in March 2025 and Darwin-Kuala Lumpur since June. Affected customers will be offered refunds, said Woo.
“We understand that the suspension of our Darwin routes impacts travel plans and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” she said.
“The capacity will be redeployed to other Australian destinations, further strengthening AirAsia’s commitment to the market.”
According to AirAsia, it now serves four “major Australian gateways” (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide), and has a “committed pipeline to develop further connectivity”.
“Carrying close to 1 million guests between Australia and Asia annually, AirAsia operated 69x total weekly frequencies across these hubs in 2025,” the airline said in a press release.
“In 2026, the airline plans to strengthen its footprint in Australia, with up to 100x total weekly frequencies during the peak holiday seasons, reflecting the airline’s confidence in sustained demand from Australian travellers.”
The airline says it offers Australian travellers extensive connections through its hubs in Denpasar and Kuala Lumpur.
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