AirAsia complains over discrimination on landing rights

Air Asia has accused Singapore of discrimination after the city state awarded long sought-after landing rights to a rival Indonesian carrier, a report said Monday. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) this month granted Indonesia’s AdamAir the rights to three daily flights from Jakarta after stalling an application from AirAsia’s Indonesian affiliate Awair. “Suddenly, AdamAir gets the right to fly to Singapore which appears to be a decision that discriminates against us,” AirAsia’s chief executive Tony Fernandes told the Financial Times newspaper. Singapore “is a country that is supposed to welcome open competition, but they are scared of us” because the city state’s own budget carriers are struggling, he said.