Jet Aviation opens aircraft management and charter operation in Malta

Jet Aviation is pleased to announce that it has signed a joint venture agreement to establish an aircraft management and charter operation in Malta. The company is working to obtain an air operator's certificate from the Civil Aviation Directorate in Malta, which it expects to receive in Q3 2017.

The joint venture partner, Luxury Business Jets, is part of a large holding company based in Slovakia. The company has arranged for two aircraft, a BBJ1 and a Legacy 600, to be operated under the new Maltese AOC. These two additional aircraft will join Jet Aviation's growing aircraft management and charter fleet in EMEA. (Source: Jet Aviation, 30-May-2017)

Maleth-Aero strikes partnership deal with Oryx Jet

Malta's Maleth-Aero has announced it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with UK-based executive aviation specialist Oryx Jet wherein the two will combine their respective industry expertise to further their B737 VIP charter operations and ACMI activities.

Under the terms of the deal, disclosed last week in a press communique, Malta-based Maleth Aero said it would focus on a wide range of services including aircraft management and charters while Oryx Jet would handle the VIP sales for the B737s. (Source: ch-aviation.com, 24-May-2017)

Armed Forces of Malta inaugurates its third new B200 King Air maritime patrol aircraft

A  state-of-the-art King Air maritime patrol aircraft for border control and an explosive ordnance disposal robot for detection and bomb disposal valued at €16 million co-financed by the E.U. were inaugurated today by the Armed Forces of Malta. Minister for Home Affairs and National Security C. Abela, Parliamentary Secretary for the E.U. Presidency 2017 and E.U. Funds I. Borg, and Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta J. Curmi presided over the ceremony held at the Air Wing in Luqa.

Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta J. Curmi said that this new King Air maritime patrol aircraft is specifically designed to incorporate innovative capabilities on many levels. Some of the aircraft's features include improved situational awareness with the ability to have a maritime domain awareness picture and advanced navigational capabilities. (Source: independent.com.mt, 22-May-2017)

British Airways' flight bound to Catania diverts to Malta IAP

A British Airways A319-100 (G-DBCG), performing flight BA-2592 from London-Gatwick (U.K.) to Catania-Fontanarossa (Sicily, Italy), had to divert to Malta IAP this afternoon after one missed approached at Catania due to strong winds on the final approach. The flight then continued to Catania reaching destination with a delay of 3-hrs 50-mins on its original scheduled time. (21-May-2017)

Wizz Air launches new route Belgrade-Malta IAP

Wizz Air launched today its new route between Belgrade (Serbia) and Malta IAP. The first scheduled flight, operated with Airbus A320-200 (HA-LPQ) landed at Malta IAP (W6-4021) at 1431lt. The return flight to Belgrade departed from Malta IAP (W6-4022) at 1547lt. WizzAir will be operating this new route twice-weekly, on Wednesdays and Sundays. (21-May-2017)

AirBaltic's Riga-Malta flight diverts to Rome-Fiumicino

An AirBaltic Bombardier CS-300 (YL-CSB), performing flight BT-739 from Riga (Latvia) to Malta IAP (Malta), had to divert to Rome-Fiumicino early this morning after two missed approaches at Malta IAP due to strong winds on the final approach. The flight then continued to Malta reaching destination with a delay of 4-hrs 15-mins on its original scheduled time. (12-May-2017)

M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for April 2017

Last month's passenger movements registered an increase of 26.6%, surpassing the half a million mark for the first time in April. Malta IAP welcomed a total of 530,576 passengers, on the back of an increase of 17.7% in seat capacity and an improvement of 5.3% in seat load factor.

April's strong performance partly stemmed from the Easter holiday effect, together with the start of new operations and the extension of certain winter routes into the summer period. The Cruise & Fly programme, which was launched at the beginning of last month, was an important contributing factor to the growth registered by both the United Kingdom and Germany.

The United Kingdom retained its top spot among M.I.A.'s top five markets, followed by Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium. Italy's growth was mainly generated on the Catania route, following increased flight frequencies to this destination. 

Meanwhile, enhanced seat capacity deployed on the Paris route and the launch of the new Bordeaux route in mid-April contributed to increased passenger numbers from France. Belgium was the market that registered the strongest growth, resulting from enhanced connectivity to Brussels.

While an average of 17,600 passengers passed through the airport every day, this figure spiked on the 13th of April. 23,400 passengers were welcomed at the terminal on the day, making it the busiest one of the year so far. (Source: maltairport.com, 10-May-2017)

Air Malta registers double digit growth over easter

Air Malta has registered an impressive 14% increase this Easter when compared with Easter last year. The Easter weekend has been deemed a huge success by the airline as it operated 22 flights more than last year and carried an additional 3,000 passengers achieving an average load factor of over 90%. (Source: Air Malta, 2-May-2017)