Penang International Airport welcomes a new carrier named Qingdao Airlines. The aircraft can now fly passengers from Penang to Quanzhou and Changsha with ease catering to both business and leisure travellers. Changsha-Quanzhou-Penang route is a regular flight with fixed flights every Tuesday and Saturday. Qingdao Airlines is the 16th international carrier to operate in Penang.

Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah, The general Manager for marketing division of  Malaysia Airports Airlines, said that the efforts to position the country as a global aviation hub resulted in a new addition to Malaysia Airports.

He said “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 northern Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in his speech after the inaugural flight ceremony at the airport today.

Yeoh Soon Hin, Committee chairman of  State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage, said the addition coincided with the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China for 2019. He quoted in his speech saying “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,”.

During its inaugural flight, the Airbus A320neo carried 42 passengers to Penang. The inauguration ceremony also marked the presence of  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 International Air Transport Co. Ltd chairman Li ChengXin, amongst others.