BUSINESS and leisure travellers in Penang can now travel to Quanzhou and Changsha with ease, as the Penang International Airport welcomes a new carrier – Qingdao Airlines.
Qingdao Airlines is the 16th international carrier to operate in Penang.
Malaysia Airports airline marketing division general manager Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah said the new addition was in line with Malaysia Airports’ efforts to position the country as a global aviation hub.
“This is a great achievement for the Penang International Airport (PIA). PIA is one of the busiest airports in Malaysia and it recorded a 5.5% growth from Jan to Sept this year as compared with the same period last year.
“It is without a doubt that the airport is considered the hub for the northern Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in his speech after the inaugural flight ceremony at the airport today.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the addition coincided with the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China this year.
“Penang is strategically located, a place where the ‘East meets the West’. It is also dubbed as the ‘Emerald of the Indian Ocean’.
“The state is not only known for its multiculturalism, but is also famed for its reputation as the Silicon Valley of the East,” he said in his speech.
Yeoh said that the Changsha-Quanzhou-Penang route is a regular flight with fixed flights every Tuesday and Saturday.
The maiden voyage from Changsha arrived at the PIA at 4.15pm today.
The Airbus A320neo carried 42 passengers to Penang during its inaugural flight.
Also present were Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan, Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association national chairman Datuk Albert Tan, Qingdao Airlines deputy general manager Liang Zheng, Pos Aviation chief executive officer Woo Kam Weng and HongCheng (Guangzhou) International Air Transport Co. Ltd chairman Li ChengXin.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Chan Kok Kuan