AirAsia axes popular Bali routes from Melbourne, Adelaide citing rising cost of jet fuel

AirAsia has been forced to axe routes from Australia to Bali because of surging jet fuel costs.

The company announced Friday the Melbourne to Denpasar and Adelaide to Denpasar routes will fly for the last time on June 18.

“This decision has been made in response to the sustained increase in global jet fuel prices caused by the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East,” Indonesia AirAsia general manager Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman said.

“This operating environment has led to the need to refocus our network on routes that remain operationally viable at this time.

“AirAsia understands the suspension impacts long-made travel plans and we apologise for the inconvenience this decision has caused, and we want to thank our guests for their support and understanding.”

The airline says it is contacting ticketholders directly, and will venture to get travellers on earlier flights on planes going through Kuala Lumpur.

With crude oil prices stubbornly above US$100 a barrel, the cost of filling an aircraft with jet fuel has more than doubled since the US and Israel began bombing Iran.

Ultra-budget US airline Spirit announced earlier this month it was shutting down effective immediately, after 50 years.

Air New Zealand has jacked up ticket prices, but this week warned its full-year losses are expected to be between NZ$340m to NZ$390m ($278m-$319m).

AirAsia has been stung hard by the global oil shock.

Just three days after the conflict began and the crucial Strait of Hormuz closed, the airline announced the Adelaide to Bali route was being upped from four flights a week to seven. That move took effect March 21, and the airline flagged it would go to 10 flights per week in busy periods.

March 3 was also the date the airline announced the Melbourne to Bali route.

The focus on Adelaide and Melbourne meant the Darwin to Kuala Lumpur and Darwin to Bali routes were axed; those routes were operated by AirAsia Malaysia and Indonesia AirAsia, respectively, and had only been running since March and June of 2025.