The Malta Aviation Society, organizers of the airX Malta International Airshow informs the public that due to circumstances beyond its control, the aerobatic team Turkish Stars will not be participating in the Airshow.
Once faced with this situation the organising committee managed to secure the RAF Red Arrows for both days of the airshow.
This year's event will feature 3 display teams - the Italian team Frecce Tricolori, the Spanish team Patrulla Aguila and now the world famous RAF Red Arrows, all on both days of the event. (Source: maltairshow.com, 23-Sep-2014)
The Italian Air Force has donated a North American, Texan T6G trainer
aircraft to the Malta Aviation Museum. The Texan T6G was a two-seat trainer used during WWII to train pilots, mostly
in the United States and Canada.
The aircraft donated to the Malta Aviation Museum was one of several hundred
handed over by the United States to friendly nations during 1952-1953 to help
them rebuild their air forces. After serving with at least two Italian Air Force flying schools the aircraft
was retired and placed in storage.
Aircraft engineers from the Aviation Museum, led by David Polidano, travelled
to Forli to dismantle the aircraft and load it on a trailer for shipment to
Ta’Qali. The aircraft finally ‘landed’ at Ta’Qali last Saturday and will be
reassembled for display.
The museum said the donation was made possible by Col L. Mariz,
Commanding Officer of the Italian Military Mission Malta, Maj M. Lumia, ex Brig (rtd) M. Xuereb, Col M. Said AFM and Warrant Officer
O. Bennett AFM. (Source: timesofmalta.com, 22-Sep-2014)
An ULS Airlines Cargo Airbus A310-300 freighter (TC-LER), operating cargo flt GO-451 from Istanbul-Ataturk (Turkey) to Misrata (Libya), had to divert to Malta IAP this morning due to low visibility at Misrata airport. The freighter continued with its flight to Misrata after two-hours on the ground at Malta IAP. (22-Sep-2014)
The United States Navy has
confirmed participation with a P-3C Orion coming from Patrol Squadron 4
the Skinny Dragons. VP-4 is based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The Lockheed P-3
Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime
surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and
introduced in the 1960s. At this time a squadron detachment is based in NAS Sigonella in Sicily, for patrol in the Mediterranean and further afield. (Source: maltairshow, 20-Sep-2014)
An Air Malta Airbus A320 will fly in formation with the Red Arrows
aerobatics team during the Malta International Airshow on Sunday week. The airshow will be held on Saturday and Sunday Sep. 27th and 28th,
and, for the first time, will feature four aerobatic display teams.
Capt Martin Ferrando, who will pilot the Air Malta A320 said
detailed preparations for the flypast were made over the past week. This, he said, would be a unique and spectacular display. The Air
Malta plane will join the nine jets that make up the Red Arrows some six
miles out at sea and fly back in formation over the Grand Harbour and
onto the runway. (Source: timesofmalta.com, 16-Sep-2014)
Armed Forces of Malta (AFM)
confirms the participation both in the static display as well as in the
flying display programme, through its Air Wing. Included in the
flying display repertoire shall be the Alouette III SAR helicopter. The Alouette III will be flying the Malta flag to signal the
beginning of the afternoon aerial display on both days of the show and
shall be on static display as well, accompanied by the Hawker Beechcraft
B200 King Air, a Britten Norman BN-2
Islander, a Bulldog primary training aircraft and for the first time AFM's new twin-engined helicopter, the AgustaWestland AW-139. (Source: maltairshow.com, 12-Sep-2014)
Air Malta announced today that it will be increasing its schedule
between Malta and Djerba with an additional weekly frequency every
Tuesday with effect from Sep. 16th. The Maltese airline will
therefore be operating three weekly flights to/from the Tunisian city
every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. (Source: maltatoday.com.mt, 11-Sep-2014)
Next summer Finnair will add seasonal flights to Malta International Airport from Finland's capital Helsinki, with timetables designed for optimal connections with Finnair's network of Asian destinations. Service to Malta begins Apr. 2nd and lasts until late October. Flights to Malta IAP will operate twice a week - Mondays and Thursdays - with A321 Sharklet aircraft. (Source: maltatoday.com, 9-Sep-2014)
Malta IAP hosted 8.6% more passengers in
August than it did during the same month last year welcoming 551,179
passengers.
CEO M. Klaushofer said the growth was the result of an
unprecedented increase in the number of aircraft seats being taken up,
resulting in a seat load factor of 86.5%. Seat capacity increased by 6.6%, while flight movements rose by 5.1%.
"August's success was due to marked growth in some of the airport's
major markets, namely the U.K., France, Germany and Italy," he said. Italy saw the highest growth - an increase of
16.5% due to the new routes added for the summer. Traffic from
Germany and France grew by 10.4% and 9.1% respectively,
followed by the U.K which grew by 8.7%.
The maximum take-off weight increased by 7.1% and cargo mail increased by 4.6%.
Between January and August, MIA hosted more than 2.9 million
passengers resulting in an eight per cent increase over the same months
last year. (Source: timesofmalta.com, 5-Sep-2014)
For the first time ever in
the history of the Malta International Airshow, Egypt will be
participating with a K-8E trainer in the static display.
The K-8E Karakorum is a two-seat intermediate jet trainer and light attack
aircraft designed in the People's Republic of China by China Nanchang
Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation. The primary contractor for this
plane is the Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation.
The K-8 variant was
developed for export to Egypt in 1999, featuring 33 modifications to the
airframe and avionics. Built in Egypt from Chinese-supplied kits,
production of 80 Egyptian-built Chinese kits was completed in 2005, with
license production of an additional 40 K-8Es undertaken thereafter. (Source: maltairshow.com, 2-Sep-2014)
The Hellenic Air Force has
informed us that the F-4E Phantom II from the Hellenic Air Force has
cancelled its participation for the static display in this year's
edition of the airX Malta International Airshow.
The Malta
Aviation Society continues to work on other possible participants as we
approach the event, now with less than 25 days from the 2014 airX Malta
International Airshow. (Source: maltairshow.com, 1-Sep-2014)
