KUALA LUMPUR – Budget airline operator AirAsia Aviation Group said on Dec 30 that the chief executive of its Malaysia unit will resign from his role and take up an appointment on its board of advisers.

Mr Riad Asmat, who was appointed as AirAsia Berhad CEO in January 2018, will relinquish the position on Dec 31, the group said in a statement.

“AirAsia will be announcing additional updates on the restructuring of the company and personnel within the group in due course,” the group said in a statement.

Mr Riad announced that he was leaving his role on his verified Instagram account on the morning of Dec 30.

He had been responsible for the company’s Malaysia-based operations, according to his biography on AirAsia’s website.

The executive said he would “take a bit of a break” in his message to followers.

The move comes as Capital A, the holding company for AirAsia, seeks to expand its services beyond aviation.

In September, Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes said he expected its non-airlines business to be bigger than its airline operations within five years. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG