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)

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)

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) 

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)

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)

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

(Source: maltairport.com, 7-Sep-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)

Maleth-Aero B733 returns back to Malta IAP for technical reasons

A Maleth-Aero Boeing B737-300 (9H-ZAK), operating chartered flight DB-338 between Malta IAP and Vagar (Faroe Islands), had to return back to Malta IAP this afternoon, 15-mins after departing, for technical reasons.  The aircraft was carrying the Maltese National Football Team for the first match of UEFA's new Nations League against the Faroe Island.  The flight was subsequently cancelled and re-scheduled for tomorrow.  (4-Sep-2018)