Two French AF Mirage 2000-5Fs divert to MLA

Ash cloud: Air Malta’s Hamburg flight cancelled

This afternoon's flight between Malta and Hamburg has been cancelled because of the ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland. Air Malta said all other services are expected to operate normally.

The volcanic ash, a result of the recent eruption in Grimsvotn, is expected to clear from UK airspace by this afternoon.

However, officials in Germany said dozens of flights would be grounded in the country, with take-offs and landings cancelled in Bremen and Hamburg airports as a result of increased levels of ash in the atmosphere.

(Source: timesofmalta.co,)

Ash cloud effects flights to Malta

Ryanair's Edinburgh flight to Malta and EasyJet's flight from Newcastle have been cancelled because of the ash cloud forming over Scotland and Northern England from the Grimsvoetn volcano in Iceland. Ryanair's flight from Edinburgh was due to land in Malta at 11.40 a.m., while easyJet's Newcastle flight was due at 8.35 p.m.

The cloud has also affected a Thomas Cook flight from Glasgow to Malta. The flight will now depart from Manchester instead of Glasgow and arrive in Malta at 7.20 p.m. instead of the scheduled 1.45 p.m. It will later also depart for Manchester instead of Glasgow.

Air Malta said in a statement that although its flight schedule has not yet been affected, it was closely monitoring the evolving situation and was in touch with aviation authorities. It said it would advise its passengers of any changes in its flight operations as a result of airspace disruptions.

(Source: timesofmalta.com)

French Navy Super Etendard diverts to Malta IAP

French Navy FS Courbet in Valletta Port

A 'Private' light aircraft veers off RWY31 at Malta IAP

A locally-based Beech 95-C55 Baron (N55AE) light aircraft had just landed on RWY31 at Malta IAP, and was vacating the runway to its parking stand, when the left-hand main undercarriage collapsed for unknown reasons. Consequently, the aircraft veered left off the runway ending in the grass resting on its left wing.

The incident happened at about 6 p.m. The sole person onboard was not injured, but the main runway (13/31) at Malta IAP had to be closed for a couple of hours.

Air Malta flight cancelled due to volcanic ash cloud over Sicily

A volcanic ash cloud over Fontanarossa Airport in Catania is causing disruption over the Sicilian airspace. Consequently, the airport had to close and is expected to resume operations tomorrow morning at 0600 hours local time.

As a result of this, Air Malta had to cancel its flight KM1308/9 Malta-Catania-Munich. All other Air Malta flights are expected to operate normally.

Air Malta spokesmen said that the situation was rapidly changing one and that the airline was closely monitoring the situation.

(www.di-ve.com)

M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for April 2011

Passenger movements at Malta IAP grew by 25.3% during the month of April reaching 300,123, i.e. the highest number ever registered in April and the first time that the figure in this month hit the 300,000 mark. This was brought about by a record seat capacity for the month, which exceeded 400,000 seats, i.e. an increase of 13.3% over April 2010. The elevated increase this month needs to take into consideration the fact that last April’s figures were negatively affected by the volcanic ash disruption.

The average seat load factor was also on the increase when compared to April 2010, reaching 73% - an increase of 7%, whilst aircraft movements for the month grew by 10.2% over the corresponding period last year. Likewise the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) was 5.3% higher than the corresponding period, whilst cargo and mail was 4.6% higher than that recorded during the same month in 2010.

The German, French, U.K. and Spanish markets grew remarkably in April, by 45.3%, 34.5%, 31.7% and 25.8% respectively, whereas the Italian market suffered a negligible decrease of 0.4% respectively.

Between January and April, passenger movements increased by 19.2%, with aircraft movements registering an increase by 13.1% over the same first four months of 2010. The seat capacity increased by 15.5% and the average seat load factor increased by 2.1% over the first four months of 2010. In the same period, the MTOW increased by 10.8% whereas Cargo and Mail decreased slightly by 4.2% over the same period of 2010.

(www.maltairport.com)

Comlux Malta Ltd. takes delivery of an A320 Prestige

Maltese-registered company Comlux Malta Ltd., part of Comlux The Aviation Group, has taken delivery of a new Airbus A320-214X Prestige, registration 9H-AWK.

Year built: 2010
Test registration: F-WWIV
Previous registration: N105AL (canx 3/5/11)
Construction number: 4199
ICAO-24 (hex): 4D204F

Two French AF Mirage F.1CRs divert to Malta IAP

Two French Air Force Mirage F.1CR fighter jets (620/112-CT & 653/112-CV) had to divert to Malta IAP this afternoon after reporting to be low on fuel.

The two jets have landed at Malta IAP just after 1100LT after they were given clearance to land by the Maltese authorities. Once they were refuelled, the jets departing again at 1330LT.