Cruise & Fly flights redirected to Malta

Following industrial unrest in Athens, Spanish cruiseline Pullmantur today redirected three flights to Malta, for its clients to start their cruise from Malta on board its cruiseliner Zenith.

Two Pullmantur Boeing 747-400s (EC-KXN & EC-KSM) and a Spanair Airbus A320 (EC-KEC) landed at Malta Int'l Airport earlier this afternoon bringing a total of 759 passengers from the Spanish capital, Madrid. These passengers were taken straight to Valletta Port from where they started their Mediterranean Cruise.

The same three aircraft left from Malta Int'l Airport later on with a total of 582 passengers who disembarked the Zenith, on their way back to Madrid.

(www.maltairport.com)

bmi Baby launches seasonal flights between East Midlands and Malta

bmi Baby has launched this evening its 'summer' seasonal flights on schedule between East Midlands (U.K.) and Malta Int'l Airport.

This first flight was operated with a Boeing B737-300, registration G-TOYG.

bmi Baby will be operating two weekly flights between East Midlands and Malta on Tuesdays & Saturdays, up to October 30th, 2010.

FS Cmdt. Bouan in Valleta Port on a courtesy visit

The French naval vessel FS Commandant Bouan (F 797) - a D'Estienne D'Orves (Type A69) Corvette - has arrived this evening in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) on a courtesy visit.

FS Commandant Bouan is scheduled to sail from Malta on Thursday June 3rd, at 0900LT.

AFM’s new MPA was officially rolled out at Hawker Beechcraft’s facilities

The Armed Forces of Malta’s new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) was officially rolled out at Hawker Beechcraft’s facilities in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A. last week. The B200 aircraft, registration N6316K, serial numbered BB-2016, is now undergoing flight and systems testing by the company before being flown to Germany.

Once there, Aerodata AG in Braunschweig will fit the aircraft with the Telephonics Corporation's RDR-1700B maritime surveillance and imaging radar, besides other mission related electronics before being delivered to the AFM's Air Wing early in February next year. This belly mounted search radar provides full 360 degree coverage of the marine environments. The RDR-1700B selected for this Maltese platform is the same radar recently demonstrated in December last year on the Northrop Grumman P6 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

This King Air B200 aircraft, being partially financed through the EU External Borders Fund, is a highly successful twin engine turbo prop utility aircraft that has been in production in various models since 1972, with over 3,500 of the type now in service all over the world. The AFM’s version of the aircraft features a fully digital cockpit, increased maximum take off weight, and specialised surveillance and communications equipment to perform the maritime patrol mission. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 turboprops, producing 850 shp each, the B-200 can cruise at over 300 mph and has a service ceiling of 35,000 ft.

AFM Officers present for the roll out, and who have flown in the aircraft during the acceptance flight, have reported that the aircraft is a delight to fly and is is a marvel of engineering and technology.


(AFM Press Release)

FS Cmdt. Bouan in Valleta Port on a courtesy visit

The French naval vessel FS Commandant Bouan (F 797) - a D'Estienne D'Orves (Type A69) Corvette - has arrived this evening in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) on a courtesy visit.

FS Commandant Bouan is scheduled to sail from Malta tomorrow, May 22nd, at 0700LT.

Ryanair opens its 41st base at Malta Int'l Airport

Ryanair has opened its 41st base at Malta Int'l Airport today with one based aircraft and six new routes, bringing its network to Malta to 19 routes.

Ryanair's six new routes will be operated to:

• Valencia (Spain), started today
• Sevilla (Spain), started today
• Krakow (Poland), starting tomorrow, May 19th
• Bologna (Italy), starting tomorrow, May 19th
• Billund (Denmark), starting this Friday, May 21st
• Marseille (France), starting this Friday, May 21st
  

Ryanair's first based-aircraft at Malta Int'l Airport, a Boeing 737-800WL with reg'n EI-EMF, has arrived in Malta yesterday at 1850LT from Shannon, Ireland, as RYR61P.

Swedish Coast Guard KBV003 in Valletta Port on her maiden voyage

The Swedish Coast Guard vessel KBV003 Amfitrite - a KBV001 class - arrived this evening in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) on a courtesy visit.

KBV003 Amfitrite is on her maiden/delivery voyage from her builders Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania, to her home port in Sweden.

KBV003 Amfitrite is scheduled to sail from Malta this Saturday, May 15th, at 2200LT.

HMS Atherstone in Valletta Port on a courtesy visit

The Royal naval vessel HMS Atherstone (M 38) - a Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure Vessel - has arrived this morning in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) on a courtesy visit.

HMS Atherstone is on its way to the U.K. after being deployed in the Arabian Gulf for 27 months, where it completed warm water mine warfare training and conducted maritime security operations to deter illegal activity on the high seas.

HMS Atherstone is scheduled to sail from Malta this Sunday, May 16th, at 1200LT.

Afriqiyah Airways' A320 diverts to Malta Int'l Airport

An Afriqiyah Airways A320-200 (5A-ONJ), on scheduled flight between London-Gatwick and Tripoli Int'l (AAW913), was forced to divert to Malta Int'l Airport yesterday evening due to bad weather at Tripoli.

Having night-stopped at Malta Int'l Airport, the aircraft departing this morning at 0725LT, continuing to Tripoli as AAW913.

Ryanair to inaugurate Malta-base on May 18th

Ryanair said today that it will inaugurate its base in Malta on May 18th when six new routes will take to the skies.

The airline will be basing one aircraft in Malta and introduce new services to Billund in Denmark, Krakow in Poland, Marseille in France, Seville and Valencia in Spain, and Bologna in Italy.

Ryanair's Luis Fernández-Mellado, Sales and Marketing Manager for Malta, said that in order to celebrate the new base the airline was inviting people to go to Bay Street this Saturday at 10 p.m. and to Valletta Waterfront on Sunday at 4 p.m. and the first 25 who arrived dressed in the Ryanair colours (yellow and blue) would receive a pair of return flights to one of Ryanair's new destinations from Malta - taxes and charges excluded.

Ryanair has 41 bases and 1,100 low fare routes across 26 countries, connecting 154 destinations. It operates a fleet of 240 new Boeing 737- 800 aircraft with firm orders for a further 74 new aircraft (before taking account of planned disposals), which will be delivered over the next two years.

(www.timesofmalta.com)

HMS Lancaster in Valletta Port on a courtesy visit

The Royal naval vessel HMS Lancaster (F 229) - a Duke Class (Type 23) Frigate - has arrived this afternoon in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) on a courtesy visit.

HMS Lancaster, the fourth of the Type-23 frigates, is returning to the U.K. after a seven-month deployment to conduct maritime security operations in the Middle East, supporting international efforts to counter illegal activity.

The British frigate has currently embarked a Lynx HMA.8SRU helicopter, XZ691/415.

HMS Lancaster is scheduled to sail from Malta this Friday, May 14th.

M.I.A. releases its Business Report & Financial Statements for 2009

Further to the publication of its Business Report and Financial Statements for 2009, Malta International Airport plc has revealed results that show the Company has registered 2.1% net profit over last year despite all the difficulties set by the global scene that have brought about a 6.1% traffic decrease.

Moreover, further to the net interim dividends paid of €4,059,000 (€0.06 per share), M.I.A. plc paid out an additional €0.057 as final net dividend which brings the total dividend for the year at €0.117 per share which is the same dividend as that paid in 2008.

The Company’s turnover in 2009 was €46.45 million as against €45.11 million in 2008 (3%). The EBITDA registered was €20.71 whilst in 2008 the EBITDA was €20.30 (2%) and the EBIT for 2009 was €15.41 as against €15.38 (0.2%). M.I.A. plc’s net profit for 2009 was €8.84 million.

"In 2009 M.I.A. may safely be considered to have achieved satisfactory results notwithstanding worldwide economic obstacles that have affected our operations. Registering a net profit of 2.1% at the same time when we were struggling to contain a 6.1% decrease in traffic only goes to show that out diversification strategy is working and investments made in previous years have helped us weather the storms" stated Julian Jaeger, CEO of Malta International Airport.

In the light of the bleak financial environment such results warrant M.I.A. to look ahead with confidence. This is substantiated with the worthwhile investment afforded for the expansion project of the terminal which is now fully operational and has generated an increase in revenue in the retail and properties segment of 24%.

This expansion and complete refurbishment is the salient feature of a strategy which shows a clear commitment to meet the challenges through diversification of revenues and consistently pursuing the established policy of support schemes to encourage the introduction of new routes and additional flight frequencies in close cooperation with the major stakeholders.

"Notwithstanding the turbulent times, we still stand by our revised forecast of plus 6% passenger movements, though given the recent disruptions on air traffic and their consequences on air traffic we shall consistently be monitoring the overall situation" said Mr Jaeger

The modernisation of the terminal has enhanced comfort and services for both travellers and locals alike, and this has resulted in M.I.A. receiving remarkable accolades on international levels namely The Passenger Terminal World Annual title of "Most noteworthy airport for a new small budget programme" and moreover the Airport Council’s International, Airport Service Quality Survey overall classification of fourth best airport in Europe.

These results warrant the Company’s further investment for future development and following the issuing of MEPA’s approval of permits, works on the construction of the Business Centre by Skyparks Development Ltd, a subsidiary company of M.I.A. plc, have now commenced. This new Business Centre should be completed in 2011.

(www.maltairport.com)

Diversions/cancellations due to bad weather at Tripoli

Low visibility at Tripoli International (TIP) has effected four scheduled flights which were forced to divert to Malta Int'l Airport during the day:

- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - B737-700WL 'PH-BGI' (routing Amsterdam-TIP as KLM374) - disembarked passengers and departed back to Amsterdam as KLM375.
- Emirates A330-200 'A6-EAE' (routing Dubai-TIP as UAE745) - continued to TIP after a long tech-stop.
- Afriqiyah Airways - A319-100 '5A-ONI' (routing Amsteradam-TIP as AAW953) - continued to TIP after a long tech-stop.
- Afriqiyah Airways - A320-200 '5A-ONA' (routing London-Gatwick-TIP as AAW319) - continued to TIP after a long tech-stop.

For the same reason, two scheduled flights between Libya and Malta had to be cancelled: Air Malta's AMC396/7 and Libyan Airlines' LAA146/7.

M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for April 2010

During the month of April Malta Int'l Airport plc has registered a decrease of 6.0% in passenger movements over the corresponding month of 2009. Notwithstanding the decrease in April the first four months of 2010 still registered an increase of 3.6% over 2009.

The total passenger movements on scheduled and non-scheduled flights in April 2010 was of 239,553 a decrease of 15,370 passengers when compared to the corresponding month in 2009. Aircraft movements decreased by 1.3% while cargo & mail figures registered an increase of 0.1%.

Passenger traffic for main markets Italy and Spain increased by 26.3%, and 33.6%, whilst U.K., Germany and France decreased by 7.8%, 29.5% and 2.5% respectively.

The busiest day in April 2010 was the 6th with 13,724 passengers and 106 aircraft movements.

(www.maltairport.com)

Air Malta to fly to Damascus

Air Malta will start operating a new service to Damascus in Syria as from next month.

The airline said it would operate twice-weekly flights, increasing to three times weekly in the summer peak season. The flights to Damascus, which will commence on June 7th and will be operated directly every Monday and Friday while the third weekly flight every Wednesday will start as from June 14th.

To celebrate the launch of this new route, Air Malta is offering special fares starting from €79 for a return ticket inclusive of all taxes. This special offer is valid for travel between June 7th and September 30th. Booking and ticketing has to be done by not later than June 30th. Hotel accommodation in Damascus can also be booked through Air Malta's Flyaway Tours.

Air Malta used to operate to Damascus in the 1980s.

(www.timesofmalta.com)

DCA says 500m-long runway best option for Gozo

The Department of Civil Aviation, in a 2009 report to the government tabled in Parliament yesterday, said that for safe operations, should a Gozo airstrip be built, a non-instrument runway strip of 500m, 18 metres wide, would be the best option.

The department said the obvious advantage of fixed wing aircraft over helicopters was the considerable cost reductions in the initial procurement of equipment, operations, maintenance, fuel and crew.

It said that over the years it assessed a variety of proposals for a runway of varying lengths in different locations on Gozo, including an extension of the present 174m long helipad, which required the least level of intervention on the existing infrastructure.

The department said that ICAO specified that for the runway type envisaged on Gozo, a runway strip had to extend to 30 metres at each end of the runway and by 30 metres (measured from the centreline ) on both sides. This meant that an additional area (the runway strip) needed to be added to the actual landing field length.

Apart from this area around the runway, there needed to be an Obstacle Limitation Surface that safeguarded aircraft operations and prevented the airfield becoming unusable should there be an increase of obstacles in the vicinity of the airfield. This OLS started 30 metres from the threshold of the runway and had a slope of 5% with a divergence of 10% on each side for a distance of up to 1,600 metres.

The department said the runway should, ideally, be paved since a grass runway was difficult to maintain, especially in summer, and the take-off run would be increased by as much as 10%.

An airstrip of 500 metres could be used for aircraft such as the 19-passenger Viking Twin Otter, the nine-passenger Islander and the seven-passenger Pilatus PC-6, with safety margins.

The department said the runway extension would cover a presently disused land in Xewkija and a smaller area at the Ghajnsielem end of the existing Heliport. There would also need to be a realignment of Triq ta' Lambert or an underpass.

The DCA said it was not within its remit to advise on the viability o otherwise of such a project from an economic, financial, environmental or social perspective.

(www.timesofmalta.com)

FS Gazelle in Valletta Port on a courtesy visit

The French naval auxiliary vessel, FS Gazelle (A 775) - a Chamois class support vessel - has arrived this morning in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) on a courtesy visit.

FS Gazelle is expected to sail from Malta tomorrow, May 4th, at 1900LT.