Air Malta in summer 2019 season intends to resume service to Cairo, as
the airline filed operational for Malta IAP - Cairo IAP (Egypt) route in the OAG. Previously served until October 2006, the airline intends to operate this route
twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays with Airbus A320, effective 31-Mar-19.
KM710 MLA-CAI 2340 – 0215+1
KM711 CAI-MLA 0315 – 0620
(Source: routesonline.com, 27-Dec-2018)
Friday, December 28, 2018
Friday, December 21, 2018
Ryanair's flight to Nuremberg returns to Malta IAP for technical reasons
A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-EXE), operating flight FR-2561 between Malta IAP and Nuremberg (Germany) had to return back to Malta IAP the evening for technical reasons.
The aircraft was flying at 36,000-ft, north of Sicily, when the crew reported the problem and decided to return back to Malta to have the problem sorted out. The aircraft landed safely on RWY 31 around 2015lt, 1-hr 45-mins after departing.
The flight was subsequently operated by a replacement aircraft (B738, EI-DWJ), departing from Malta IAP at 2310lt. (Source: flightradar24.com, 21-Dec-2018)
The aircraft was flying at 36,000-ft, north of Sicily, when the crew reported the problem and decided to return back to Malta to have the problem sorted out. The aircraft landed safely on RWY 31 around 2015lt, 1-hr 45-mins after departing.
The flight was subsequently operated by a replacement aircraft (B738, EI-DWJ), departing from Malta IAP at 2310lt. (Source: flightradar24.com, 21-Dec-2018)
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Air Malta considering resuming Libya flights in 2019
Air
Malta is considering resuming scheduled passenger flights to Libya in 2019, Chief
Commercial Officer P. Sies has confirmed. "There is a project to resume flights, [it is] still a project however and not confirmed yet," Sies commented in an emailed statement to ch-aviation.
Last week, Minister of Tourism K. Mizzi told TVM in an
interview that the proposed service may operate between Malta IAP and Tripoli-Mitiga. Given the lack of country-wide security, foreign carriers have been
hesitant to resume regular flights to Libya. (Source: ch-aviation.com, 17-Dec-2018)
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Seven year concession to continue operating ramp services at Malta IAP
Air Malta
and Aviaserve have been awarded a seven year concession by the Malta International
Airport plc to continue providing ramp services at the airport until 2025.
M.I.A. plc said in a
statement that the contracts were awarded following a public call. It added
that these contracts oblige the two companies to provide the best quality
service which will continue to improve the level of service at the airport.
Both Air Malta, as well as
Aviaserve, are obliged to carry out a programme of investment in the equipment
to ensure that they are catering for the needs of the airline and the clients
which use the airport. The agreement also provides for security measures in
their runway operations. (Source: tvm.com.mt, 11-Dec-2018)
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Qatar Airways to launch flights to Malta in June 2019
Qatar
Airways announced that it will launch direct services to Malta,
starting 4-Jun-2019, marking the airline's first gateway to Malta and the
latest addition to its rapidly-expanding European network. The Malta route will be served with an A320 aircraft, with daily services in summer and
four-times-weekly flights in winter.
Qatar
Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: "We are tremendously excited
to announce the launch of direct services to Malta, one of Europe's
architectural gems and a key new addition to our European network. This new
direct route demonstrates our commitment to enhancing connectivity for both
business and leisure travelling to and from Europe, which we have enhanced
during the past year with the launch of non-stop services to Prague, Kyiv, Skopje."
Passengers
travelling to Malta in Business Class can look forward to relaxing in
one of
the most comfortable, fully-lie-flat beds, as well as enjoy the five-star food
and beverage service, which is served 'dine-on-demand'. Passengers
can also take advantage of the airline's award-winning in-flight entertainment
system, Oryx One, offering up to 4,000 entertainment options. (Source: gulf-times.com, 10-Dec-2018)
Saturday, December 8, 2018
TM licences Freebird Airlines Europe as an Approved Training Organisation
Transport Malta (TM) has today licensed Freebird Airlines
Europe as an Approved Training Organisation, the first international company in
Malta licenced exclusively for aviation training, it said in a statement. "Freebird's decision to set up shop in
Malta confirms and consolidates Malta's efforts to maintain and expand a
comprehensive aviation cluster for the island,"a Transport Malta statement
read.
"Freebird will start to provide EASA Approved Type Rating Training in
Malta. For the first time, budding
Maltese commercial pilots can receive most of the training required in Malta. Freebird also aims to service the increasing
demand for pilot and crew training in the region. The organisation, in
synergy with other local service providers, will focus on rating training for
the Airbus A320, the Boeing 737, simulator flight instructor training and Type
Rating Instructor training."
Capt. C. Arbac, from the organisation, said that,
"with the professional and constructive cooperation of Transport Malta we
would like to extend our contribution to the aviation and the training industry
in Europe and other regions. We would like to take this opportunity to thank
the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate and look forward to expanding our
training services." (Source: independent.com.mt, 8-Dec-2018)
Friday, December 7, 2018
M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for November 2018
The winter
season is off to a strong start at Malta Int'l Airport, with November
traffic reaching 453,563 passengers movements and registering an increase of
11.8% over the same month last year.
Passenger
movement peaked on the 4th of
November, which was the same day year-to-date traffic through Malta
IAP hit the 6 million passenger mark, surpassing the
record-breaking 6,014,548 passenger movements recorded between January and
December last year.
This growth in
passenger numbers was driven mainly by the launch of a robust winter schedule,
featuring an increased frequency of flights to several popular destinations,
together with the extension of 12 summer routes into the winter season.
Aircraft
movements rose by 10.4% to 3,357 take-offs and landings in November 2018, while
seat capacity grew by 11.5%, when compared to 2017. On average almost 4 out of
every 5 seats on board were occupied, bringing November's seat load factor up to 79.2%.
With the United
Kingdom holding on to the top spot, closely followed by Italy, Germany, France,
and Spain, Malta IAP's top five markets remained unchanged.
Four out of
these five markets registered significant growth during November, ranging from
7.4% in the case of the U.K. to 66.5% in the case of Spain.
The significant growth registered by the Spanish market is attributed to the extension of the Seville, Valencia and Malaga routes introduced in summer into the winter season, as well as the increased frequency of direct flights to Barcelona.
Germany was the only market among the airport's top five to register a 0.8% decline in passenger movements. (Source: maltairport.com, 7-Dec-2018)
The significant growth registered by the Spanish market is attributed to the extension of the Seville, Valencia and Malaga routes introduced in summer into the winter season, as well as the increased frequency of direct flights to Barcelona.
Germany was the only market among the airport's top five to register a 0.8% decline in passenger movements. (Source: maltairport.com, 7-Dec-2018)
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Medavia Technics opens line station in Ghana
Medavia
Technics has recently signed up a two-year maintenance agreement to
support this inspiring new start-up regional airline, called Passion Air
(IATA-Code OP), based in Accra – Ghana international airport. Passion Air is a
Ghanaian airline that started scheduled domestic operations in Ghana back in
August 2018.
The scope of the
agreement eyes Medavia Technics being involved in the following areas of
expertise: technical support/consultancy upon the delivery of their 78 seater
aircraft – Bombardier Q400; base maintenance support including painting under
our Part-145 approval; Part-21J Design Organisation for the livery application
approval on their aircraft; Continued Airworthiness Management support and
finally by setting up a Line Maintenance Station in Accra in order to offer
full line support under our Ghanaian approval.
Medavia Technics shall also support them logistically both under normal and AOG circumstances including workshop support. (Source: Medavia, 5-Dec-2018)
Medavia Technics shall also support them logistically both under normal and AOG circumstances including workshop support. (Source: Medavia, 5-Dec-2018)
Air Malta eyes A220s for thinner regional routes
Air Malta is evaluating adding A220s for
regional routes too thin to operate with the carrier's existing fleet of Airbus narrowbodies, the Blue Swan
Daily has reported.
"We are looking at
the A220 for operation on shorter distances to develop a concept of Air Malta
as the airline of the Mediterranean. The A220s offer the opportunity for
short-haul flying over one hour and one hour and a half. You can do it more frequently,
connecting an island to the mainline," Chairman Dr C. Mangion said.
The airline has yet to
settle on a specific business plan for the A220s and has not yet decided
whether it would be interested in A220-100s
or A220-300s.
According to the
ch-aviation fleets module, Air Malta currently operates one A319-100, seven
A320-200s (of which one is wet-leased from the carrier's fully owned technical
partner Malta MedAir),
and one A320-200neo. (Source: ch-aviation.com, 6-Dec-2018)
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Saudi Arabian Airlines B772 diverts to Malta IAP for technical reasons
Labels:
B772,
diversion,
incident,
Malta IAP,
Saudi Arabian Airlines,
technical reason
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Ryanair's Sevilla-Malta flight diverts to Catania
A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-FIZ), performing flight FR-1409 from Seville (Spain) to Malta IAP (Malta), had to divert to Catania-Fontanarossa (Sicily, Italy) this afternoon because of bad weather over Malta. The aircraft departed again to Malta reaching destination with a delay of 2-hrs 20-mins. (Source: flightradar24.com, 12-Oct-2018)
Labels:
B738,
bad weather,
Catania-Fontanarossa,
diversion,
incident,
Malta IAP,
Ryanair
Friday, November 30, 2018
Malta Maritime Pilots get new launch
A new
pilot boat with the name of Juliet I has been inaugurated. The 15-metre launch has
been built with a 900,000 euro investment. Juliet I is the eighth
launch for the Malta Maritime Pilots, a cooperative set up in 2003. The
cooperative today employs 65 persons, among them 16 pilots. The
Chief Pilot, Captain J. Mifsud, told TVM that
pilots nowadays manoeuvre vessels which are as long as four football pitches. (Source: tvm.com.mt, 30-Nov-2018)
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Air Malta awarded the CAPA Turnaround Airline of the Year
Air Malta has
scooped the 2018 'Turnaround Airline of the Year' at the prestigious CAPA World
Aviation Outlook summit held in Berlin. Air Malta was chosen amongst the
world's airlines for its 'innovative strategic changes and/or a restructuring
exercise'.
CAPA's Aviation
Awards for Excellence are regarded as the pre-eminent awards for strategic
excellence in aviation. This year's winners in various categories
include Qantas Group, WOW air, CityJet, LEVEL and Jozsef Varadi, Wizz Air's
Chief Executive.
Air Malta's
Chairman, Dr C. Mangion, was presented with the award during the CAPA Aviation
Awards ceremony. Air Malta was selected for its successful
transformation, from a heavy loss-making entity to a break-even result for the
fiscal year ended March 2018.
In the statement
announcing the winners CAPA said that Air Malta had been unprofitable for
nearly 20 years as it struggled to overcome multiple challenges, including
increasing competition from LCCs, outdated work practices and tensions in the
North Africa market, which impacted its traditionally strongest routes.
It added that the flag carrier had accumulated operating losses of more than
USD300 million over the 10 years ended Mar-2017. (Source: Air Malta,
28-Nov-2018)
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Turkish Airlines A333 bound to Lagos diverts to Malta IAP
A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300 (TC-JNM), performing flight TK-625 between Istanbul-Ataturk (Turkey) and Lagos-Murtala Mohammed (Nigeria), had to divert to Malta Int'l Airport this afternoon due to medical emergency on board. The flight continued to Lagos after nearly 90-mins at Malta IAP. (Source: flightradar24.com, 21-Nov-2018)
Labels:
A333,
diversion,
incident,
Malta IAP,
medical emergency,
Turkish Airlines
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Year-to-date traffic through Malta IAP soars to nearly six million passenger movements
Malta
Int’l Airport continued to register exceptional results, with year-to-date
traffic through the terminal reaching 5,939,436 passenger movements. This figure indicates that the airport is on
track to reaching its forecast 6.8 million passenger movements by the end of
2018.
Last
summer was an important contributor to this year-to-date total. A 12.2% growth in passenger traffic for the
summer months – from April to October – was observed alongside a 13.4% increase
in aircraft movements and an increase of 13.7% in seat capacity. These improvements mainly resulted from a
significantly enhanced summer schedule with more than 100 destinations on
offer.
"Year-to-date
traffic results are quite remarkable considering that last year the six million
mark was only reached on the last day of 2017. While summer has now ended, over 12 routes
have been extended into the winter period and more frequencies have been added
on a number of routes. The months ahead
promise to keep us busy, auguring well for our pledge to constantly work
towards year-round tourism," said Malta IAP CEO, A. Borg.
The
top drivers of passenger traffic during the summer months were the U.K. (+14.9%),
Italy (+15.1%), Germany (-2.3%), France (+12.5%), and Spain (+44.5%). Spain's noteworthy spike in passenger
movements can be attributed to the launch of three new summer routes; Malaga,
Seville, and Bilbao, two of which have been extended into the winter period.
Last
summer's most popular destination with Maltese holidaymakers was Italy, with
Catania and Rome being the most sought-after cities. These two cities will be benefitting from four
additional weekly flights each throughout the winter period, which will
certainly serve to further cement their popularity with the Maltese public even
in the off-peak months.
October,
which marks the end of summer for the aviation industry, grew by 8.4% in terms
of traffic to reach 646,559 passenger movements. (Source: maltairport.com, 7-Nov-2018)
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Air Malta forced to delay flight after pilots and their replacements call in sick
Air
Malta flight KM560/1 from Malta to Moscow was yesterday evening delayed by 10
hours 30 minutes due to the fact that the planned operating crew for this
flight reported sick, the airline said in a statement.
The next
standby crew was called and the co-pilot reported sick after he was called in,
leaving the airline with no option but to delay the flight and wait for a
leased aircraft to be flown to Malta, Air Malta said.
Consequently,
and to minimise disruptions to its customers, the airline has today wet-leased
an Airbus A321 to operate KM100/1 from Malta to London in order to facilitate
the delayed flight to Moscow.
This
flight was delayed by 2-hrs 55-mins. A number of other flights were also
delayed today with delays ranging from 20-40 minutes. KM368/9
from Malta to Hamburg was delayed by one hour.
The
estimated cost of this disruption is over €85,000, Air Malta said, apologizing
for any inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond its control. (Source: independent.com.mt, 7-Nov-2018)
Ukraine Air Alliance AN12 bound to Mitiga diverts to Malta IAP
Labels:
airport closure,
AN12,
diversion,
incident,
Malta IAP,
Tripoli-Mitiga,
Ukraine Air Alliance
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Ryanair launches new Malta to Amman route
Ryanair today announced a
new route from Malta to Amman, Jordan, its 62nd route from Malta, with a twice weekly service
commencing in April 2019, as it extends its biggest ever Summer 2019 schedule. Ryanair will now operate 62 routes in total, which will deliver 3.1m customers
p.a. through Malta airport next year, as Ryanair grows it's Malta traffic by
15%. (Source: Ryanair, 6-Nov-2018)
Saturday, November 3, 2018
French BEA publishes the final report of the Metroliner that crashed in Malta on 24-Oct-2016
France's Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) has published the final report about the "French
spy plane" that crashed shortly after take-off from Malta IAP on
24-Oct-2016. The modified twin turboprop Fairchild
Metroliner (N577MX), operated by CAE Aviation for the French authorities, took-off from
Malta IAP at 0719lt, spending only ten seconds in the air before
crashing just outside the airport's perimeter fence in Safi, killing all five
people on board.
According to the final report on an investigation by the
French BEA, the accident was caused by "a technical malfunction during rotation
or on lift-off, leading to a loss of control". The investigators say that the technical malfunction that is likely to
have downed the plane probably "originated in the specific modifications of the
aircraft and in the application of an inappropriate maintenance to these
modifications".
Investigators looked into five possible scenarios: possible high-risk behaviour on the part of the pilot; physical incapacitation
of one of the pilots; rupture to its High-Frequency (HF) antenna causing it to
become "wrapped around the elevator control surface"; a technical malfunction
of the SAS stall avoidance system; technical malfunction of a component of the
flight controls.
A number of recommendations were made to both the French authorities and
the aircraft's operators, regarding the way in which maintenance is carried out
on the modified aircraft.
As regards local authorities, the report notes that "during the
investigation, due to limited access in situ, it was not possible to determine
why the controller in the tower was not the first to trigger the alarm".
Consequently, the BEA recommended that the "Maltese authorities
responsible for the airport to investigate the reasons why the controller in
the control tower at the time of the accident was not the first person to
detect the accident" and introduce measures to improve the response time. (Source: maltatoday.com, 2-Nov-2018)
Friday, November 2, 2018
Air Malta launches 2018/19 winter schedule
Air
Malta is setting its sights on extending its record passenger growth numbers
into the Winter season with the start of its winter flight schedule this week.
On the back of
unprecedented passenger traffic during the summer months, the airline’s
strategy sees a new focus for the winter, with 27 scheduled destinations, an
increase of nine destinations over last year. The result is a 40% capacity increase covering a selection of 300 weekly departures.
Air Malta is committed to
growing inbound and outbound tourism especially during the shoulder and winter
periods. The airline aims to offer a diverse selection of main city and hub
airports and a high level of frequencies to and from Malta, giving passengers
optimum choice and optimum value for money as well as several options to
connect beyond to/from airports nor served with direct flights.
Several of the new routes
launched in the last 12 months have proven to be highly successful and will
subsequently be retained, including Lisbon, Cagliari, Malaga, Casablanca, and
Kiev.
The 5th Freedom flights between Catania and Vienna
and between Catania and London Southend will also be retained.
Meanwhile, the German
market, which has for many years been a mainstay to both the airline and the
country’s tourism success, will be given renewed focus.
The airline will be
placing a lot of new capacity and investing in the German market by adding
three new destinations; the capital Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig. With double
daily flights to Munich, five weekly to Frankfurt and a twice weekly flights to
Dusseldorf, Air Malta is making sure to cover the German market with 50 weekly
departures to and from six airports.
This winter Air Malta will operate direct flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels,
Cagliari, Catania, Casablanca, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Lisbon,
London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, London-Southend, Kiev, Malaga, Milan, Moscow,
Munich, Palermo, Paris-Charles De Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Rome, Tel Aviv, Tunis,
Vienna and Zurich.
The airline will also operate flights between Catania –
Vienna, Catania – London-Southend and Cagliari – London*Southend.
The winter schedule started on 28th October and runs up to the
end March 2019. (Source: Air Malta, 1-Nov-2018)
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Air Malta re-launches Malta-Leipzig service after seven years
Air Malta has re-launched this evening direct flights between Malta IAP and Leipzig (Germany). This same route was last served by the national airline in October 2011.
This first flight, operated with Airbus A319-100 (9H-AEJ), departed from Malta IAP at 1806lt (KM-310). After turnaround, the aircraft is scheduled to return Malta IAP at 0015lt (KM-311). Air Malta will be operating the route once a week, on Wednesdays. (31-Oct-2018)
This first flight, operated with Airbus A319-100 (9H-AEJ), departed from Malta IAP at 1806lt (KM-310). After turnaround, the aircraft is scheduled to return Malta IAP at 0015lt (KM-311). Air Malta will be operating the route once a week, on Wednesdays. (31-Oct-2018)
Labels:
9H-AEJ,
A319,
Air Malta plc,
first scheduled flight,
KM-310,
KM-311,
Leipzig,
Malta IAP,
route
Monday, October 29, 2018
Vueling's Barcelona-Palermo flight diverts to Malta IAP
Friday, October 26, 2018
Lufthansa Technik Malta receives A350 base maintenance approval
Lufthansa Technik Malta is officially ready to perform
all work required for the Base Maintenance of the Airbus A350-900, as the
company has been licensed by the German Federal Aviation Office (LBA).
The granting of the "Base Maintenance Approval"
certificate by the LBA marks the successful end of an intense period of
preparation, in which employees were trained, processes were established and
infrastructure was adapted.
Lufthansa Technik Malta kicked off this extensive program
in November 2016 and has now been rewarded accordingly for its efforts. The
first A350 is expected to arrive for base maintenance services at
Lufthansa Technik Malta in spring 2019.
Lufthansa Technik's CEO M. Motschenbacher said:
"More than 50 employees of Lufthansa Technik Malta spent just over three
months in personal preparation acquiring the necessary qualifications and
practical training to enable them to work on the A350. Two out of six base
maintenance lines at the facility have been outfitted to accommodate the
A350-900 with an investment of over €3.2m to cover the first C-Checks. A
substantial investment in new tooling has included the purchase of more than
280 different tools including engine removal tooling."
Extensive docking modifications have also been undertaken
in Hangar 1, extending the current capabilities of the mezzanine, wing and tail
docks. Investment in a new electrical installation was also made due to the
A350's dedicated hydraulic rigs. (Source: lufthansa-technik.com, 26-Oct-2018)
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Dassault Falcon 2000LXS joins TAG Malta’s growing AOC
TAG
Malta has added a new Falcon 2000LXS to its growing fleet of managed aircraft,
offering clients greater flexibility and cost-effective executive travel to a
wide range of destinations. The luxuriously appointed, wide-body, business jet
will be based between Geneva and Cairo and is fully available for charter from
the end of October.
"We are delighted to
welcome the outstandingly versatile Dassault Falcon 2000LXS to the charter
fleet which will open up exciting new opportunities for TAG Malta", said
F. Sériès, Vice President Sales and Marketing, TAG Aviation Europe. "This
super-midsize twinjet is the third factory-new aircraft to join our Maltese AOC
this year and is a great example of our continuing fleet expansion and ongoing
commitment to meet the private aviation needs of our customers." (Source: corporatejetinvestor.com, 24-Oct-2018)
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Air Malta is set to break even in the financial year that ended in Mar-18
Air Malta is expected to announce that it reached break in the financial year that ended in March 2018, MaltaToday has learnt. This will be the first time in 18 years that the national airline has
registered a positive financial performance, airline sources said. The results are expected to be announced at the annual general meeting
that will be held in December. Air Malta's fiscal year is from April to March.
The airline underwent an intensive restructuring process since being on
the brink of bankruptcy in 2010 when government stepped in with State aid that
had to be cleared by Brussels. The restructuring process, which involved downsizing the airline and
cutting some of its routes, was supposed to turn the airline back to black
within five years. The airline failed to do so and in June last year, under incoming Tourism Minister K. Mizzi, Air Malta shifted to a
growth strategy.
The airline added new routes, increased the number of aircraft in
operation and negotiated collective agreements with its workers. It also cut
certain costs, such as free on-board meals. The strategy appears to have paid off with the
airline managing to carry more passengers. The sources said that between
January and August of this year, the airline registered a 35% increase in
passenger numbers. (Source: maltatoday.com, 22-Oct-2018)
Friday, October 12, 2018
Ryanair's Liverpool-Malta flight diverts to Trapani
A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-FZN), performing flight FR-8928 from Liverpool (U.K.) to Malta IAP (Malta), had to divert to Trapani (Sicily, Italy) this evening because of bad weather over Malta IAP. The aircraft departed again to Malta reaching destination with a delay of about 3-hrs 15-mins. (Source: flightradar24, 12-Oct-2018)
Proposed startup LeOne to be based in Malta
LeOne, a proposed startup airline, presented yesterday its business plan: New brand of Group Aerospace Engineering, which includes
subsidiaries Aerospace Engineering Ldt and Aero-Engineering srl; Will be based
in Malta and intends to provide ACMI/charter services on behalf of airlines and
tour operators in Italy; Will operate one Boeing 737-500 aircraft with 126-seats and one 737-400 with 168-seats. The 737-400 is expected for delivery
before the end of 2018 and the 737-400 in Feb-2019. (Source: centreforaviation.com, 12-Oct-2018)
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Air Malta carries 35% more passengers in August
During
the month of August, Air Malta registered a 35% increase in passengers on its
Malta-based routes compared to last year and carried a total of 244,799
passengers to and from Malta. August was
the airline’s busiest month this year.
"For
another month Air Malta was one of the main contributors to the 9.5% growth
registered by Malta IAP during August. In
addition to that, during this month, the Maltese airline carried almost 11,000
passengers on 5th Freedom routes, namely Catania - Vienna, Catania – London-Southend
and Cagliari – London-Southend routes," the airline said in a statement.
P. Sies, Air Malta’s Chief Commercial Officer said, "Every month, over the past
year, we have increased our passenger loads substantially when compared to the
previous year. This month, once again, we achieved an average seat factor of
83%. During August we operated 1,746 flights, an increase of 26% more flights
than last year." (Source: independent.com.mt, 8-Aug-2018)
Monday, October 8, 2018
Air Horizont B734 diverts to Ancona due to control problems
An Air Horizont Boeing 737-400 (9H-AMW) on behalf of Albawings, performing flight 2B-224 from Venice (Italy) to Tirana
(Albania) with 135 people on board, was en route at FL290 about 80-nm
eastnortheast of Ancona (Italy), almost overhead Zadar (Croatia), when the crew
decided to divert to Ancona reporting control problems. A massive emergency
response was initiated at Ancona, rescue helicopters were dispatched to the
airport. The aircraft landed safely on Ancona's RWY 22 about 22-mins
after leaving FL290. (Source: avherald.com, 5-Oct-2018)
Labels:
9H-AMW,
Air Horizont,
Ancona,
B734,
control problems,
diversion,
emergency landing,
incident
Sunday, October 7, 2018
M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for September 2018
With 706,814 passenger movements recorded,
September was yet another busy month in what is proving to be a record-setting
summer for Malta Int'l Airport. September was, in fact, the third
consecutive month during which more than 700,000 passengers were welcomed by
the airport team.
September's traffic brought peak holiday season to
a close with more than 2.2 million passenger movements, making this three-month
stretch the best quarter in the airport’s history.
Translating into an upturn of 12.8% over
2017, much of September's traffic growth can be attributed to an increase in
aircraft movements (+12.5%) and seat capacity (+14.1%) which
stemmed from an enhanced summer flight schedule. September's seat load factor, which measures the success rate of airlines in filling up available
seats, stood at 85.7%.
The U.K. continued to top the list of
Malta IAP's top markets, followed by Italy, Germany, France
and Spain. While four of these markets experienced double-digit growth, traffic
from Germany dropped 7.2%, following the introduction of a reduced
schedule by TUI cruises.
While Rome-Fiumicino topped the list of most
popular airports in July and August, last month it was knocked off the top spot
by London-Gatwick's 40,763 passenger movements.
Total Traffic
|
706,814 passenger movements
|
Top Market
|
United Kingdom (174,410 passenger movements)
|
Most Popular Airport
|
London Gatwick (40,763 passenger movements)
|
Aircraft Movements
|
4,766 take-offs and landings
|
Busiest Day
|
23.09.2018 (27,330 passenger movements)
|
Seat Capacity
|
825,170 seats
|
Fastest-growing Market
(from top 5)
|
Spain (+35.3%)
|
Cargo and Mail
|
1,323 tonnes
|
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Two Malta bound flights divert to Catania because of bad weather over Malta
The two flights affected were Air Malta's KM-613 from Rome-Fiumicino (
Airbus A320-200, 9H-AHR) and British Airways' BA-2644 from London-Gatwick (Airbus A320-200, G-EUYM).
Both flights then continued to Malta reaching destination with a delay of nearly 3-hrs 15-mins (Air Malta) and 3-hrs 35-mins respectively on their scheduled time. (2-Oct-2018)
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Malta's Comlux Aviation adds first Challenger 605
Comlux Aviation Malta has announced it had added a
nine-seat Bombardier Challenger
605 to its Madrid Barajas-based
fleet of business jets. The aircraft is being marketed for charter services through
Comlux's OneAbove charter sales division.
Based on ch-aviation
research, the aircraft in question is 9H-OWL (msn 593), previously operated
by TAG Aviation (Malta) until Aug. 8th, according to
Radarbox24 ADS-B data. It first flew from Munich to Strasbourg for Comlux on Sep. 3rd. (Source: ch-aviation.com, 26-Sep-2018)
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Air Malta A319 rejects take-off from Malta IAP after a birds' strike
An Air Malta Airbus A319-100 (9H-AEJ), performing
flight KM-100 from Malta IAP (Malta) to London-Heathrow (U.K.), was accelerating
for take-off from Malta's RWY 31 when the aircraft encountered a flock of
birds causing multiple impacts prompting the crew to reject take-off at high
speed.
The aircraft slowed safely, stopped about
2100m down the runway for an inspection by emergency services, then
taxied to the apron about eight minutes after the rejected takeoff. The aircraft was examined and cleaned, then departed again
after about four hours on the ground and reached London with a delay of about 3.5
hours. (Source: avherald.com, 20-Sep-2018)
Labels:
9H-AEJ,
A319,
Air Malta plc,
bird strike,
ground,
incident,
KM-100,
rejected take-off
Jet2's Newcastle-Malta flight diverts to Frankfurt
A Jet2 Boeing
B737-800 (G-JZHD), performing flight LS-573 from Newcastle (U.K.) to Malta IAP
(Malta), had to divert to Frankfurt (Germany) this morning due to a medical
emergency on board. The aircraft departed
again to Malta reaching destination with a delay of about 2-hrs 40-mins. (Source: flightradar24, 20-Sep-2018)
Ryanair's Aberdeen-Malta flight diverts to Bergamo
A Ryanair Boeing B737-800 (EI-EKM), performing flight FR-1522 from Aberdeen (U.K.) to Malta IAP (Malta), had to divert to Bergamo (Italy) yesterday evening, reason unknown. The aircraft departed again to Malta reaching destination with a delay of about 2-hrs 25-mins. (Source: flightradar24, 20-Sep-2018)
Danish Air Transport AT72 diverts to Malta IAP
A Danish Air Transport ATR 72-200 (OY-RUG), operating flight DX-1844 from Lampedusa (Italy) to Catania-Fontanarossa (Italy), had to divert to Malta IAP last night because of bad weather over Catania airport. The aircraft continued to Catania after nearly 1-hr 30-mins on the ground at Malta IAP. (Source: 20-Sep-2018)
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Air Malta flights to/from Paris-Orly cancelled after pilots called in sick
Air
Malta flights to and from Paris Orly were cancelled at short notice and without
prior warning today after a number of pilots called in sick
simultaneously.
Passengers had already
been checked in on Air Malta flight KM-466, scheduled to leave from Luqa airport for Paris-Orly at 1510lt. As the departure time came and went, flight boards started
indicating that the flight - code-shared with Air France - had been
delayed. Just before 1700lt, passengers were informed that the flight had been
cancelled.
The return flight KM-467 was scheduled to leave the Paris-Orly for Malta at 1850 lt but that flight too was cancelled. Passengers
were not informed until they reached the airport and were left scrambling to
try and book alternative flights and overnight accommodation.
When
contacted, Air Malta said the flights were cancelled due to an
"unprecedented number of pilots reporting sick concurrently". The airline said it
was doing its utmost to provide transportation on alternative flights or on
other airlines. It apologised to passengers and said it regretted the
inconvenience caused. (Source: maltatoday, 19-Sep-2018)
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Ryanair announces ten new destinations from Malta
Malta
will be connected to ten new airports in Europe as of next summer, Ryanair
announced on Tuesday.
Starting as of summer
2019, travellers will have the opportunity to fly into Cardiff and Exeter
airports in the U.K., Lamezia-Terme and Perugia in Italy, Nantes in France,
Thessaloniki in Greece, Cork in Ireland, Maastricht in the Netherlands, Oslo-Torp in Norway and also Luxembourg.
The routes to Norway and
Luxembourg will be the first that Ryanair will be operating to these countries
from Malta.
The addition of these
routes means that Ryanair now operates 61 routes out of Malta, and it also
means that another aircraft from their fleet will be based on the
island. This brings the tally of Ryanair aircraft based in Malta up to
six.
Ryanair's David O'Brien
said that the addition of these routes means that Malta now has more European
connections than London-Heathrow airport.
The executive chairman of
the Malta Tourism Authority Mr G. Gulia said the new routes complement the
MTA's strategy of connecting Malta to as many destinations as
possible. Mr Gulia said that the routes connect Malta to previously
unconnected cities and that this opens up new opportunities for Malta and the
Maltese. (Source: maltatoday.com, 11-Sep-2018)
Labels:
Cardiff,
Cork,
Exeter,
flights schedule,
Lamezia-Terme,
Luxembourg,
Maastricht,
Malta IAP,
Nantes,
Oslo-Torp,
Perugia,
route,
Ryanair,
Thessaloniki
Friday, September 7, 2018
M.I.A. plc releases traffic results for August 2018
Traffic through Malta Int'l Airport
continued on its upward trend, with passenger movements reaching 759,547 in
August. Translating into an increase of 9.5% over the same month last
year, this total was yet another traffic record for the airport. The August holiday rush kept the Malta
IAP team busy with an average of 24,502 daily passenger
movements.
This rise in passenger traffic was observed in
parallel with a 9.7% increase in aircraft movements, with the airfield
seeing over 5,000 take-offs and landings during the month. While seat capacity grew by 10.5%, seat
load factor dropped by 0.7%, when compared with the same
month last year, to stand at 87.4%.
The top drivers of traffic for August were the
United Kingdom (+12.1%), Italy (+16.2%), Germany (-11.0%), France (+2.5%) and Spain (+30.0%).
According to the 2018 Summer Season Travel Report,
Malta has been gaining ground with British leisure travellers, featuring among
the top 10 fastest-growing destinations for the summer season with a 13.7% growth rate.
Spain’s noteworthy performance can be partly
attributed to the fact that Spanish routes increased with the introduction of
flights to Bilbao, Malaga, and Seville.
The French route network was also
widened with the launch of three scheduled services to Paris-Beauvais, Nice,
and Lourdes, contributing to the market’s 2.5%.
Total Traffic
|
759,547 passenger movements
|
Top Market
|
United Kingdom (181,102 passenger movements)
|
Most Popular Airport
|
Rome, Fiumicino (42,967 passenger movements)
|
Aircraft Movements
|
5,072 take-offs and landings
|
Seat Capacity
|
869,762 seats
|
Fastest-growing Market
(from top 5)
|
Spain (30.0%)
|
Cargo and Mail
|
1,536 tonnes
|
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Air Malta's flight bound to Malta from Paris-Orly returns back because of autopilot problems
An Air Malta Airbus A320-200 (9H-AEP), performing flight KM-467 from Paris Orly (France) to Malta (Malta), was climbing out of Orly's RWY-08 when the crew stopped the climb at FL130 reporting autopilot problems and decided to return to Orly for a safe landing on RWY-08 about 40 mins after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground for about two hours, then departed again and reached Malta as flight KM-467A with a delay of 2:45 hours. (Source: avherald.com, 5-Sep-2018)
Labels:
9H-AEP,
A320,
Air Malta plc,
autopilot,
diversion,
incident,
KM-467,
Malta IAP,
Paris-Orly,
technical reason
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Maleth-Aero B733 returns back to Malta IAP for technical reasons
Labels:
9H-ZAK,
B733,
charter flight,
diversion,
Maleth-Aero,
Malta IAP,
technical reason,
Vagar
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Air Malta increased its passenger-load to and from Malta by 27% in July
During
July the national airline Air Malta had a 27% increased passenger load on its
routes in comparison to the same month last year. An
airline statement said 228,982 passengers had been carried to and from Malta
and this had had a major effect on turnover figures registered by Malta
IAP. Air
Malta said last month it had carried 8,000 passengers on its routes Catania-Vienna,
Catania-London Southend and Cagliari-London Southend.
The
airline’s commercial head Paul Sies was quoted as saying in a statement that
Air Malta’s strategy of continuing to expand its routes by a further 21 new
ones is bearing fruit. On his
part the airline’s Chairman, Charles Mangion, maintained the Company is
satisfied with these results that show that for the third successive month
passenger loads had increased substantially.
Tourism
Minister Konrad Mizzi said that over the last seven months Air Malta had
carried an additional 200,000 passengers on its Malta-based routes and 25,000
other passengers on its intra-European routes between Sicily, Sardinia and
London Southend. (Source: tvm.com.mt, 29-Aug-2018)
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