Royal Danish Navy HDMS Esberne Snare in Valletta Port

The Royal Danish Navy Absalon class support vessel HDMS Esberne Snare (L 17) has sailed into Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. She has on board a Super Lynx Mk.90 helicopter, serial S-191.

The Danish support vessel is presently berthing alongside at Pinto-4/5 Wharf, and she's expected to sail from Malta on Monday, September 30, at 0700lt.

(29-Sep-2013)

Russian Navy RFS Neustrashimy in Valletta Port

The Russian Navy Neustrashimy class frigate RFS Neustrashimy (712) has sailed into Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. She has on board a Kamov Ka-27PL helicopter, serial 37 (Yellow).

The Russian frigate is presently berthing alongside at Pinto-3 Wharf, and she's expected to sail from Malta on Monday, September 30, at 1000lt.

(28-Sep-2013)

TM/DCA: Malta Aircraft Register update

Transport Malta/Directorate of Civil Aviation published today the latest update of the Maltese Aircraft Register.

New addition/s:

• 9H-GGG - Boeing B737-700 (c/n. 40119), registered to Maleth-Aero AOC Ltd.
• 9H-MSF - Tecnam P92-JS (c/n. 121), registered to Malta School of Flying Co. Ltd. (ex I-PDVF)

Cancellations: none

(Source: Transport Malta, 27-Sep-2013)

Russian Navy RFS Ivan Bubnov in Valletta Port

The Russian Navy Boris Chilikin class fleet oiler RFS Ivan Bubnov has sailed into Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit.

The Russian tanker is presently berthing alongside at Magazine Wharf, and she's expected to sail from Malta on Saturday, September 28, at 0600lt

(25-Sep-2013)

Aigle Azur selects SR Technics for maintenance checks in Malta

SR Technics has signed a contract with Aigle Azur Transportes Aeriens, a French airline based in Paris-Orly, to provide C-Checks on two Airbus A319s. The aircraft will be inducted in November and December of this year, and work will be completed out of SR Technics' narrowbody Centre of Excellence in Malta. (Source: SR Technics, 24-Sep-2013)

Russian Navy RFS Eljnia in Valletta Port

The Russian Navy Alyay class fleet oiler RFS Eljnia has sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit.

The Russian tanker is presently berthing alongside at Wine wharf, and she's expected to sail from the Grand Harbour on Wednesday, September 25, at 0800lt.

(22-Sep-2013)

Ethiopian B752 diverts to Malta IAP due to an engine problem

An Ethiopian Airlines B757-200 (ET-ALZ), performing flight ET-703 from Milan-Malpensa IAP (Italy) via Rome-Fiumcino IAP (Italy) to Addis Ababa-Bole (IAP) with 135 people on board, was enroute at FL350 about 140nm ENE of Malta when the crew reported the right-hand engine (PW2037) had been secured and decided to divert to Malta drifting down to FL240. 

The crew requested emergency services on stand by and advised they were not yet sure about whether they needed to stop on the runway or could vacate the runway, subsequently the crew requested a lower altitude to drift down to. The aircraft drifted down to FL150 and landed safely on Malta's RWY 31 about 40-mins after leaving FL350. The aircraft taxied to the apron without stop. 

The aircraft was able to depart again after about 10 hours on the ground and reached Addis Ababa with a delay of 11 hours. (Source: avherald.com, 19-Sep-2013)

TM/DCA: Malta Aircraft Register update

Transport Malta/Directorate of Civil Aviation published today the latest update of the Maltese Aircraft Register.

New addition/s: 

• 9H-SFA - Dassault Falcon 2000EX-Easy (c/n. 039), registered to Skyfree Ltd. (ex CS-TLP)

Cancellation/s: none

(Source: Transport Malta, 17-Sep-2013)

Air Malta cancels three flights as pilots report sick, other flights delayed

Air Malta cancelled flights to Benghazi, Milan and Newcastle today because a large number of pilots reported sick, a spokesman for Air Malta confirmed.

Flights to Tel Aviv, Paris Orly, Cardiff, Budapest, Frankfurt and Vienna were delayed. The delays ranged from just over five hours in the case of the Tel Aviv flight, to two-and-a-half hours for the Cardiff flight.

The spokesman said 18 pilots had reported sick, nine times the norm and 40 per cent of the available pilot complement. The pilots called sick during the night. He said their condition is being investigated.

In a statement the airline regretted the disruption and said it will do its utmost to minimise inconvenience.

So far over 1773 passengers have been impacted and the airline warned that it was likely that more flights would be delayed and some may be cancelled.

The airline said it would do its utmost to provide alternative flights.

(Source: timesofmalta.com, 17-Sep-2013)

Royal Navy of Oman RNOV Shabab Oman in Valletta Port

The Royal Navy of Oman tall ship RNOV Shabab Oman has sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. RNOV Shabab Oman serves as a training ship for the Royal Navy of Oman

The Royal Navy of Oman barquentine is presently berthing alongside at Pinto-3 wharf, and she's expected to sail from the Grand Harbour on Saturday, September 14, at 0900lt.

(12-Sep-2013)

Tunisair B735 diverts to Malta IAP due to medical emergency

A Tunisair Boeing B737-500 (TS-IOJ), performing flight TU-814 from Cairo International Airport (Egypt) to Tunis-Carthage International Airport (Tunisair), had to divert to Malta International Airport early this morning, around 0005lt, due to a medical emergency on board. The aircraft continued later with its flight to Tunis-Carthage after 1.5 hours on the ground. (7-Sep-2013)

Armed Forces of Malta acquires two fast rigid dinghies

The Armed Forces of Malta has acquired two Zodiac Hurricane ZH-558 IO Jet drive rigid dinghies to upgrade its fast response capability. The dinghies were acquired through the use of funds from the European Union External Border found. The boats can be launched from platforms on patrol boats. The new dinghies are equipped with a jet propulsion system. Their aluminum hull allows them to operate in heavy seas. (Source: timesofmalta.com, 5-Sep-2013)

M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for August 2013

More than the equivalent of Malta’s entire population passed through the airport last month: a record total of 507,646 passengers. August 2013 will therefore go down in history as the best month ever for Malta IAP.

The driver behind August’s record passenger movements came from an increase of 11.2% in seat capacity - thanks in part to M.I.A.’s efforts to increase routes and airlines. 

Passenger movements are calculated by adding the number of arrivals and departures, meaning a passenger who enters and leaves Malta in the same month is counted twice.
 
Four of Malta’s five major markets registered growth in August. Italian passengers increased by 17.7%, while passengers from France and Germany grew by 9% and 3.9% respectively. The smallest growth was registered by U.K. passengers, an increase of 1.1%.
 
Between January and August, this year has already seen an increase of 8.7% over the same period last year. Aircraft movements registered an increase of 7% while seat capacity is up by 8.5%. (Source: maltairport.com, 5-Sep-2013)

Air Malta halves operating loss, increases revenue, passenger figures between April and June 2013

Between April and June this year Air Malta halved its operating loss, increased revenue and passenger figures and maintained a steady seat load factor when compared to the same period last year. The airline announced its results for this quarter in a statement today. 

It said it reduced the operating loss for the quarter to €3.3 million (€6.1 million loss during the same period last year). The net result after restructuring costs (largely one-time charges) and interest costs was a loss of €4.9 million (€10.6), as anticipated in the Restructuring Plan approved by the European Commission.

Air Malta said the results were driven by constant improvements in the airline's revenue of €5.7million and by the increases in passenger numbers to 498,692 passengers (+28,908 passengers. The airline registered a seat load factor of 74% over this period. Performance on scheduled flights for the first quarter met expectations and was significantly better than last year.

Air Malta said these figures continued to build on the progress registered during the financial year ended in March. 

On time performance, being reported for the first time in the airline’s quarterly figures, has improved by 5.5% to 84.6%. This measure indicates the percentage of flights that departed within 15 minutes of their scheduled time.

(Source: timesofmalta.com, 4-Sep-2013)