Military jets scrambled to intercept Maltese aircraft

Two Italian military jets intercepted a Maltese training aircraft this afternoon after it failed to respond to a number of communication requests from a control tower, according to reports in the Sicilian media.  The incident happened in the airspace over Comiso, according to Ragusa News. 

The report said the Maltese Cessna aircraft had departed from Malta and lost contact with the control tower when it reached 4,000m over Sicily, as a result of which it failed to respond to a number of messages of communication made by the Italian authorities.

Two Eurofighter EF-2000 jets from the Italian Military Mission were immediately dispatched from the military airport in Trapani-Birgi to analyse the situation before it intercepted the aircraft and guided it back to the airport. No further details are available at this stage. (Source: timesofmalta.com, 22-Feb-2016)

M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for January 2016

Malta IAP welcomed 236,552 passengers in January, representing a 13.2% increase over the same month last year. This translates to more than 27,000 new passengers.

Over the last five years, traffic in January increased cumulatively by 40%, clearly indicating that Malta’s strategy to stimulate traffic during the shoulder months is working. Further proof of this is the 11% growth registered in the winter period so far, over the months of November, December, and January.

Last month’s growth is attributed to a 9.0% increase in seat capacity, driven by the Italian, Turkish, and Spanish markets. Traffic from the U.K. grew by 2.7%, holding on to its top market position, as a result of an increased seat load factor. Meanwhile an increase in aircraft movements to Munich contributed to a 17.2% increase in German passengers, whereas the French market suffered losses of 16.7%, due to a reduction in routes served.

London, Frankfurt, and Rome were January’s top destinations, while Istanbul registered the most significant growth in passenger numbers with an increase of 39.5%. This continues to consolidate the upward trend in traffic from Turkey, which has been steadily increasing over the past months.

Meanwhile, the maximum take-off weight increased by 7.2%, while cargo and mail grew by 3.4%. (Source: maltairport.com, 9-Feb-2016)