Air Madagascar A343 diverts to Malta IAP due to medical emergency on board

An Air Madagascar Airbus A340-300 (TF-EAB), performing flight MDG050 from Antananarivo-Ivato Int'l (Madagascar) to Paris-Chales de Gaulle (France), had to divert to Malta IAP this morning due to a sick male passenger on board. The aircraft landed on RWY 31 around 0755LT. It departing again to Paris-Charles de Gaulle around 1100LT. (31-Mar-2013)

HiFly Malta to offer two ex-Virgin Atlantic Airways A346s for wet-lease

HiFly Malta plans to launch operations later this spring with two ex-Virgin Atlantic Airways Airbus A340-600s (9H-SEA, c/n 383 and 9H-SUN, c/n 416) according to a report by Skyliner Aviation. Portuguese ACMI specialist Hi Fly announced earlier this year that it would set-up a new Maltese carrier. (Source: ch-aviation.ch, 29-Mar-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-MCM - Cessna S550 Citation SII (c/n. S550-0028), registered to M.C.M. Maintenance Centre Munich GmbH (ex S5-BAX) 

Cancellation/s: none

(Source: Transport Malta, 26-Mar-2013)

Three Chinese naval vessels in Valletta Port

Three Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy vessels have sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on an invitation by the Armed Forces of Malta. 

The Chinese Task Force, under the command of Rear Admiral Li Xiaoyan, has just concluded a four-month anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, during which it provided escort to hundreds of civilian and commercial vessels of various nationalities including Maltese.

The three vessels are: 

• Jiangkai II class (type 54A) frigate PLANS Huangshan (570)
• Jiangkai II class (type 54A) frigate PLANS Hengyang (568) 
• Fusu class replenishment tanker PLANS Qinghaihu (885)

The two frigates are presently berthing alongside each other at Pinto-3 wharf, while the replenishment tanker is berthing alongside at Pinto-4/5. They will be open to the public for viewing between 9 a.m. and noon on March 27 and between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on March 28. Visitors cannot take bags or food on board.

The three vessels are expected to sail from Malta on Saturday, March 30, commencing from 1500lt.

(26-Mar-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: none

Cancellation/s: none

Update:

• 9H-WLD - Falcon 900B (c/n. 062) re-registered to JetMagic Ltd. (ex 9H-WLD with Valair Aviacao Lda, Portugal).

(Source: Transport Malta, 25-Mar-2013)

Red Arrows confirms participation at the Malta Int'l Airshow 2013

Acknowledged as one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows, will be performing in Malta's skies this September 28th and 29th at the Malta International Airshow.

2013 will be the 49th display season for the Red Arrows in which they will continue to enthrall, captivate and inspire millions of people around the world with a series of displays and flypasts at a wide variety of events.  

After last year’s last-minute diversion to Sardegna due to unforeseen circumstance that forced the cancellation of the team performing in Malta, the expectation for the Red Arrows is even higher this year. It is a great honour for Malta and the Malta Aviation Society to welcome the Red Arrows back to Malta with a nine-ship display lasting around 25-mins each day. 

 The Red Arrows are expected to arrive on Friday, September 27th.

(Source: maltairshow.com, 21-Mar-2013)

2012 another record financial year for M.I.A. plc

Following a meeting of the Board of Directors held earlier today, it was announced that in 2012, Malta International Airport plc's total comprehensive income for the year net of tax increased from €11.9 to a record €12.46 million, signifying an increase of 4.71% over the previous year. 

Revenue increased from €52.4 million to €52.8 million. Although there was an increase of 4.1% in the number of passengers, the revenue from the airport segment decreased from €39.2 million to €38.3 million whilst the revenue from the Retail & Property Segment increased from €12.6 million to €14.1 million.

The earnings before Interest, Taxation Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 4.05%; from €24.79 million to €25.8 million and the EBITDA margin increased from 47.28% to 48.84%. There was also an increase in profit before tax. Profit increased from €18.92 million to €19.46 million, an increase of 2.8%.
 
These results reflect the increased volume of traffic as well as the strict control exercised on the costs of the Group, in a business environment which has a high level of fixed costs.
 
In so far as the operating costs are concerned, these were marginally lower than those of 2011. Utility costs were up from €2.8 million to €3.1 million, maintenance costs of buildings and equipment were up from €1.53 million to €1.71 million, and marketing costs were also up from €2.53 million to €2.83 million. There were also marginal increases in other operational costs such as legal and professional fees, rents payable, charges for service for persons with reduced mobility, staff costs and security fees. 

(Source: maltairport.com, 20-Mar-2013)

Malta IAP ranks as the second airport in Europe in the ACI's ASQ awards

Malta Int'l Airport has once again ranked as one of the top airports in Europe, as it was just announced that it has ranked as second across all categories for 2012 in the annual Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey. This follows two consecutive first placings achieved in 2010 and 2011 in this same survey. (Source: maltairport.com, 11-Mar-2013)

Air Malta to increase substantially its flight capacity to Russia this summer

This summer Air Malta will be increasing its seat capacity by 50% to/from Russia and is committed to float over 82,700 seats on its Russian routes to St. Petersburg, and on Moscow's Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports. This was announced yesterday by Air Malta's Chief Commercial Officer, P. Saunders during a speech at the ITB fair held in Berlin. (Source: Air Malta plc, 8-Mar-2013)

French Navy FS Meuse in Valletta Port

The French naval replenishment tanker FS Meuse (A 607) - a Durance class - has sailed in Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) this morning on a five-day courtesy visit.

FS Meuse is currently berthing alongside at Pinto-1 wharf, and she's scheduled to sail from Malta on Sunday, October 10, at 0900lt.

(6-Mar-2013)

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

Passenger movements at Malta IAP for the month of Feb-2013 increased by 4.2% when compared to the same month last year, reaching an all-time record of 176,818. Seat capacity for the month increased to 249,144 seats, i.e. 1.6% more than Feb-2012. The average seat load factor grew by 1.8% in this same month, reaching a record 71%.
 
The U.K. remained the top market for this month, with an increase of 7.4% over the same period last year. Italy went up one placing to second largest market for February, with a considerable increase of 16.3%. The German market in February was the third largest with a decrease of 5.8%. On the other hand, France kept its fourth placing with a remarkable increase of 19.4%. The largest increase was registered by Libya which climbed up from eighth market to fifth, with an impressive increase of 67.3%. 

January – February 2013: For the first two months of the year, passenger movements increased by 6.1% with a total of 356,061; whereas aircraft movements increased by 1.6% and seat capacity increased by 3.9%. In the same period, the average seat load factor registered an increase of 1.4%, the minimum take-off weight increased by 2.8%, whereas cargo and mail were 4.3% higher than same period last year. (Source: maltairport.com, 4-Mar-2013)

Lufthansa to increase flights to Malta IAP in the forthcoming summer season

Lufthansa will be operating its largest ever summer schedule to/from Malta in 2013, the airline announced this morning. Weekly arrivals to Malta from the airline's German hubs of Frankfurt and Munich will increase from eight today to 19 in August. Lufthansa made the decision to increase summer flights after it carried 150,000 passengers to/from the island last year.

The new summer schedule means:

• From April 6, there will be double daily flights from Malta to Frankfurt on weekends and three weekly flights to Munich.
• From August 1, there will be twice daily flights to Frankfurt all week and five weekly flights to Munich.

Mr Schaeffer said these flights offer Maltese travellers extensive options for transatlantic connections to the the U.S.A., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and south-east Asia, as well as major German and European cities. (Source: Lufthansa, 4-Mar-2013)