Starlux to launch Taichung-Kumamoto route in March

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced that it will launch a new Taichung-Kumamoto route on March 31, operating three round-trip flights per week to Japan's Kyushu prefecture.

The route, operated using Airbus A321neo aircraft, will be the only direct service linking central Taiwan and Kumamoto, the airline, one of Taiwan's three major international carriers, said in a statement.

Starlux CEO Glenn Chai (翟健華) said Kumamoto serves as a key transportation hub in Kyushu and is rich in natural and cultural resources, while also being a core center of Japan's semiconductor industry.

Starlux currently operates flights from Taichung to Kobe, Okinawa, Takamatsu, Macau, Da Nang and Phu Quoc Island. The airline is scheduled to launch additional routes from Taichung to Miyako Island on Feb. 13 and to Tokyo on March 30, it said.