Desktop Adobe air app asking for adobe flash install for windows

The latest versions of AIR will not include a web Flashplayer in the package (expecting the user to have it installed). You can either use an older version of AIR (AIR 21 or earlier) to enable a "captive" Flashplayer, or use this obscure work-around in newer versions:

Install NPAPI flash player from https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/npapi/
Download the latest AIRSDK from https://adobe.com/devnet/air/air-sdk-download.html then remove/rename these files:

\runtimes\air-captive\win\Adobe AIR\Versions\1.0\Resources\NPSWF32.dll
\runtimes\air-captive\win64\Adobe AIR\Versions\1.0\Resources\NPSWF64.dll

And replace them with:
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF32_32_0_0_192.dll (paste it in the above location and rename the file to NPSWF32.dll) And: C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF64_32_0_0_192.dll (paste it in the above location and rename the file to NPSWF64.dll)

Basically you're just changing some placeholder files to trick the compiler into including Flashplayer. If you publish your AIR application after changing the files, the user won't need to have Flashplayer installed.

I'm publishing from Adobe Animate CC, but I'm assuming this trick may work for you also.