-- AirAsia has solidified its position as a global leader in aviation sustainability, ranking among top five airlines in the latest benchmarked FTSE Russell ESG ratings. This achievement underscores the success of the Group’s strategy to embed climate risk management, transparent governance and operational efficiency into its core business.
In the latest FTSE Russell ESG assessments, AirAsia airlines demonstrated strong performance across Malaysian and Thai exchanges for their 2024 achievements. For the year of assessment, AirAsia’s short-haul airlines’ ESG performance was incorporated in Capital A’s disclosures and rated by Bursa Malaysia, while AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia were rated by Bursa Malaysia and the Thai Stock Exchange respectively.
Capital A* recorded a significant jump in score rising to 4.0 out of 5.0 from 3.5 the previous year, while AirAsia X** (flight code D7) scored 3.8. AirAsia’s Thai associate, Asia Aviation, which operates Thai AirAsia (flight code FD), earned 3.9 in its second year of assessment. The ratings assessed the companies’ 2024 sustainability deliverables.
These scores not only place AirAsia airlines among top-tier companies of their respective exchanges but position the Group as top performers when benchmarked against global airline peers rated by the same FTSE Russell ESG standards.
AirAsia also benchmarks against the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) which evaluates publicly listed companies with a market capitalisation above US$1 billion. In the latest assessment based on 2024 performance, AirAsia achieved a score of 45%, exceeding the global airline industry average of 37%.
Adding further weight to these benchmarked results are two international industry accolades earned in 2025. Australia-based independent aviation analysis platform 42kft.com awarded AirAsia perfect 10 scores in all nine evaluation categories. Meanwhile, AirlineRatings.com, widely known for its global airline safety ratings, named AirAsia among the Top 3 Low-Cost Carriers in its inaugural Sustainability Award. Both recognitions are independently assessed by aviation industry experts, lending additional credibility and significance to the Group’s achievements.
“Over the years, we have built the foundations that underpin our ESG ratings, but our sustainability efforts go far beyond any rating criteria. Our results reflect the discipline and hard work our teams have put into embedding sustainability into daily operations. We doubled down on fuel efficiency measures and continued investing in low-carbon technologies that deliver dual benefits, lowering fuel costs while reducing carbon emissions,” said Yap Mun Ching, Chief Sustainability Officer of AirAsia.
“At the same time, the technicalities of aviation sustainability are often not easily understood by our stakeholders. We work closely with our regulators, industry partners, and passengers to ensure our decarbonisation strategy is clear and delivers lasting impact for our business and the region,” she added.
Initiatives delivering these results include AirAsia’s proactive role in managing regulatory risks from climate change through involvement in policymaking bodies such as ICAO’s Committee for Aviation Environmental Protection and leading Malaysia’s CORSIA Task Force. In 2025, AirAsia also invested in enhancing carbon literacy and transparency for passengers. Through AirAsia MOVE, a carbon emissions display feature now shows emissions per seat during flight search, powered by real operational data, empowering travellers with the choice to make more conscious decisions.
Beyond environmental performance, AirAsia is advancing social sustainability as a signatory of the UN Women and UN Global Compact’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The Group is also a pioneering member of the WEPs Corporate Action Lab, supporting family-friendly workplace initiatives that increase women’s labour force participation in Malaysia in line with the MADANI Economic Framework.
Notes to Editor:
The scores referenced in this release reflect the performance of the AirAsia aviation business prior to its recent corporate restructuring to provide a consistent year-on-year comparison.
*In January 2026, Capital A Berhad completed the disposal of AirAsia’s short-haul airline businesses based in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia to AirAsia X Berhad.
**AirAsia X scores in this release refer to the pre-merger entity operating the airline group’s widebody operations in Malaysia.
CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) is an International Civil Aviation Organisation global market-based measure designed to cap CO2 emissions from international flights at 85% of 2019 levels.
