KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 -- AirAsia Group boss Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has defended the airline against sexism allegations after a video of its Thailand chief executive officer (CEO) Tassapon Bijleveld cursing at a female colleague went viral.

During the virtual launch of his podcast Talks With Tony today, Fernandes addressed the elephant in the room and said that AirAsia has a long track record of uplifting women in their careers.

He admitted that Bijleveld's conduct was "appalling" but sympathised with his position of having to run an airline during a pandemic that has ravaged the aviation industry.

"It was appalling behaviour from a great leader, to be honest, who slipped up.

"He's under a lot of pressure and people don't realise what ...