Taiwan’s StarLux Airlines to suspend Penang flights amid coronavirus outbreak

星宇航空因冠狀病毒爆發而暫停檳城航班

Only Da Nang service still operational, launch of Cebu flights postponed until July

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s youngest airline, StarLux Airlines, will suspend flights to the Malaysian city of Penang barely a month after its launch due to the coronavirus, reports said Wednesday (March 4).

StarLux only started fully operating on Jan. 23, with flights to Macau, Da Nang in Vietnam, and Penang, but the emergence of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) put a dent in its plans.

The airline announced Wednesday that the Penang flights would be suspended from March 8 until at least late April, when the progress of the virus will bring about a reconsideration, CNA reported.

StarLux flights between Taiwan and Macau have already been suspended between Feb. 8 and March 28, while afternoon Da Nang flights have been canceled for the period of Feb. 24 to March 31, leaving morning flights between the Vietnamese city and Taiwan as the new airline’s only ongoing service.

Plans to launch flights to the Philippine island of Cebu on April 6 have been postponed to July 1, according to CNA.

The spread of the coronavirus has seen airline traffic in Asia plummet, with the number of passengers through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport during the 228 holiday having plunged by more than 70 percent compared to the same period last year.