PRAGUE, China — As Taiwan’s largest chipmaker helps build a multibillion-euro semiconductor factory in Dresden, another prominent Taiwanese company is establishing its European foothold just across the German border.

Starlux Airlines will begin nonstop service between Taipei and Prague on Aug. 1, making the Czech capital its first destination in Europe. The carrier plans to operate three weekly flights — on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — before increasing the frequency to four flights a week in October. Starlux Airlines and Prague Airport have confirmed the schedule.

The long-haul route will be served by an Airbus A350-900 with four cabin classes. Starlux, a premium Taiwanese airline founded in 2018, is marketing the service not only to Czech travelers but also to passengers from Germany, Austria, Hungary and other parts of Central Europe.

“Prague serves as a gateway to Germany, Austria and Hungary,” the airline said in announcing the route, emphasizing connections through its Taipei hub for travelers arriving from elsewhere in Asia.

A Route With Dresden in Its Catchment Area

Although the flight will land in the Czech Republic, it is intended to attract passengers from neighboring regions, including Saxony. Prague’s airport offers a much larger international network than Dresden’s and is within practical reach of the German-Czech border region.

For Dresden, the decision therefore represents less a rejection than a reflection of airline economics. Long-haul carriers generally favor airports with broad regional catchment areas, strong tourism demand and enough connecting traffic to support year-round service. Prague provides all three, while also positioning itself as an alternative departure point for travelers from eastern Germany.

Prague Airport says the service will rise to four weekly flights from Oct. 1. The expansion will deepen an already established Taiwan-Prague aviation market: China Airlines also operates flights on the route, giving travelers a choice between two Taiwanese carriers. Prague Airport has described the Starlux service as part of a wider expansion of its long-haul network.

For Starlux, Prague is also a strategic test. The airline has built much of its network around Taipei as a premium transit hub linking Japan, Southeast Asia and North America. A successful Prague service could provide a foundation for further expansion into Europe.

Aviation Follows a Growing Technology Corridor

The route arrives as economic ties between Taiwan and Central Europe are becoming more substantial, particularly in the semiconductor industry.

In northern Dresden, the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or ESMC, is constructing a chip plant backed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, better known as TSMC. TSMC owns 70 percent of the joint venture, while Bosch, Infineon and NXP each hold 10 percent.

The project is expected to cost more than €10 billion, including up to €5 billion in German state support approved under European Union rules. Once fully operational, the factory is expected to produce about 40,000 300-millimeter wafers per month, concentrating on chips used by the automotive and industrial sectors. Production remains scheduled to begin in 2027.

Construction was reported to be proceeding on schedule in mid-2026, with the first manufacturing equipment expected to arrive before the end of the year. The factory is ultimately expected to create roughly 2,000 direct jobs.

In June, TSMC, ESMC and the Technical University of Dresden also announced a partnership focused on semiconductor research, workforce development and the international profile of “Silicon Saxony,” Europe’s largest microelectronics cluster.

Those investments are likely to generate more travel by engineers, managers, suppliers and public officials between Taiwan and Central Europe. Prague’s new service could therefore benefit from business traffic linked to Dresden even though the aircraft will not land in Germany.

Prague Gains, but the Region May Benefit

The choice of Prague gives the Czech capital the immediate advantages: more intercontinental passengers, greater tourism visibility and a stronger role as a Central European aviation hub. But the economic effects are unlikely to stop at the border.

For Saxony, the route creates a new direct connection to one of Asia’s most important technology centers. Its usefulness will depend partly on ground transportation between Prague and Dresden, including the convenience and reliability of rail and road transfers. Better cross-border links could allow Saxony to share more fully in the route’s tourism and commercial benefits.

The development also illustrates how Taiwan’s presence in Europe is expanding through several interconnected channels. Semiconductor investment is drawing Taiwanese expertise to Germany; aviation is connecting that activity to Prague; and tourism and business travel are knitting the wider region more closely to Taipei.

Starlux’s decision may have placed the new route on the Czech side of the border. But in practical terms, its European destination is broader: Prague, Dresden and the increasingly integrated economic corridor between them.