Air Malta's flight KM-309 from Munich diverts to Rome

An Air Mata Airbus A320-200 (9H-AHS), operating flight KM-309 between Munich (Germany) and Malta Int'l Airport, had to divert to Rome-Fiumicino (Italy) yestersay evening for technical reasons.  The aircraft then continued with its flight to Malta IAP reaching destination at 0119lt, with a delay of just over 4-hrs on its original scheduled time.

(Source: flightradar24.com, 27-Sep-2020)

Ryanair's flight FR-7242 from Dublin diverts to Catania

A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-EFG), operating flight FR-7242 between Dublin (Ireland) and Malta Int'l Airport, had to divert to Catania-Fontanarossa (Sicily, Italy) this morning after two missed approaches at Malta IAP due to wind shear.  The aircraft then continued with its flight to Malta IAP reaching destination at 1528lt, with a delay of just over 4-hrs on its original scheduled time.

(Source: flightradar24.com, 26-Sep-2020)

Police called in after two plane passengers refuse to put on face masks on Ryanair's flight to Malta

Two aircraft passengers who refused to wear a mask on board were escorted off their plane by police at Malta IAP late on Friday.  

The passengers, a man and woman holding British passports, were on a Ryanair flight FR-8853 from London-Stansted to Malta.  They refused to put on face masks despite repeated requests by cabin crew, prompting the plane’s captain to request police assistance upon landing.

Police officers, accompanied by Malta IAP security officers, immediately boarded the plane after it landed at 2110lt and marched the two passengers off it.  The captain declined to press charges, a police spokesperson said. The couple may still be fined for breaching Maltese Covid-19 laws.

(Source: timesofmalta.com, 26-Sep-2020)

Malta-based Lauda Europe launches operations

Laudamotion, as planned, has evolved into Lauda Europe based in Malta.  

In July 2020, Ryanair announced Laudamotion GmbH would cease operations at the end of 2020, with the fleet being transferred to Lauda Europe.  The new Malta-based Lauda Europe is the second Ryanair group airline based in Malta, alongside Malta Air.

Lauda Europe (Malta) launched operations on 13-Sep-20 with flights from several Austrian and German airports to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Ryanair Holdings' new Maltese subsidiary replaces Lauda (Vienna), which is slated for closure.  Lauda Europe will take over the operation of Airbus A320s from Lauda and will exclusively operate the aircraft as a technical wet-lease operator under Ryanair's 'FR' code.

At least five Airbus A320s previously registered in Austria have been changed to Maltese registrations.

(Source: worldairlinenews.com, 20-Sep-2020)

Ryanair's flight FR-2448 to Malta diverts to Catania

A Malta Air Boeing 737-800 (9H-QAM), operating Ryanair flight FR-2448 between Leeds-Bradford (U.K.) and Malta International Airport, had to divert to Catania-Fontanarossa (Sicily, Italy) this afternoon due to bad weather over Malta IAP.  The flight then continued to Malta reaching destination at 1649lt, with a delay of nearly three hours.

(Source: flightradar24.com, 14-Sep-2020)

Transport Malta awards Air Operator Certificate to Lauda Europe

Transport Malta's Civil Aviation Directorate has just issued an Air Operator Certificate to Lauda Europe.  The airline currently has three Airbus A320 airplanes registered under 9H and is expecting to complete transfer of another 27 in the coming weeks.

Capt. C. Pace, DGCA Malta, thanked the Management of Lauda Europe for selecting Malta as their jurisdiction of choice and praised the team of experts from both sides who worked on the project over the last months.  He stated that although these are difficult times for the industry, he pledged support for Lauda Europe and all the other companies currently operating under the Malta Registry hoping they will get back to normal operations as quickly as possible.

"Speaking in Malta today, Lauda Europe's D. O’Brien said: "The Lauda Europe team would like to thank the Civil Aviation Directorate of Transport Malta for a rigorous approval process which accepted only the highest professional standards.  The Lauda Europe Operations team led by Chief Pilot C. Grübe rose admirably to the challenge and today we are proud to receive Lauda Europe's AOC, which will enable Lauda Europe to develop it’s fleet and base network across Europe."

(Source: Transport Malta, 10-Sep-2020)

Gestair Private Jet acquires Maltese AOC

Spain's Gestair Private Jets has established a new subsidiary in Malta, Gestair Aviation Malta, following the acquisition of the Air Operator Certificate of PontAir.

The Spanish business charter specialist said that it would add up to eight business jets to its Maltese AOC over the next three years. The operator currently has 37 business jets on its Spanish AOC, including those manufactured by Beech Aircraft Corporation, Cessna Aircraft Company, Gulfstream Aerospace, Bombardier Business Aircraft, Dassault Aviation, as well as a single Piaggio Avanti turboprop.

"By acquiring this European AOC, with which the company was already collaborating, given its characteristics, it allows not only corporate aircraft but also the regular commercial transport aircraft of passengers and air cargo to be incorporated into its management," Gestair said.

(Source: ch-aviation.com, 11-Sep-2020)

Air Malta W20 network changes

Air Malta in recent schedule update filed preliminary schedule for winter 2020/21 season, effective from 25-Oct-20.  As of 6-Sept-20, the routes to routes from Malta IAP to Cairo (Egypt), Casablanca (Morocco) and London-Gatwick (U.K.) have been removed in winter 2020/21 season.  Services to London-Gatwick will resume again in summer 2021 season.

Planned operation for winter 2020/21 season are as follows.  Frequency comparison is based on OAG schedules as of 6-Sep-20 against 12-Jul-20.

Malta – Amsterdam, 4 weekly
Malta – Berlin, 2 weekly
Malta – Brussels, reduced from 8 to 5 weekly
Malta – Catania, reduced 12 to 8 weekly
Malta – Dusseldorf, 2 weekly
Malta – Frankfurt, reduced from 11 to 5 weekly
Malta – Kyiv Borispil, 1 weekly
Malta – Lisbon, 2 weekly
Malta – London Heathrow, reduced from 14 to 10 weekly
Malta – Lyon, reduced from 3 to 2 weekly
Malta – Madrid, 2 weekly
Malta – Milan-Linate, reduce from 7 to 4 weekly
Malta – Moscow-Sheremetyevo, 2 weekly
Malta – Munich, reduced from 14 to 7 weekly
Malta – Palermo, reduced from 4 to 2 weekly
Malta – Paris-CDG, reduced from 7 to 4 weekly
Malta – Paris-Orly, 4 weekly
Malta – Prague, 2 weekly
Malta – Rome, reduced from 14 to 8 weekly
Malta – Tel Aviv, reduced from 3 to 2 weekly
Malta – Tunis, 2 weekly
Malta – Vienna, reduced from 8 to 6 weekly
Malta – Zurich, reduced from 7 to 5 weekly

During the period of 25-Oct-20 to 27-Mar-21, the airline schedules 1937 flight departures from Malta, instead of 3018 flights departures on regular basis (excluding charters).  Additional changes remain highly possible.

(Source: routesonline.com, 9-Sep-2020)

Malta IAP releases traffic results for Aug-20

Last August, Malta International Airport welcomed 252,022 passengers, translating into a drop in traffic of 69.4% over the same month in 2019.

Since the airport's reopening to commercial flights on 1-Jul-20, the first two weeks of August have been the busiest for Malta IAP in terms of the number of passengers handled.

A total of 459,440 seats were available on flights operated to and from Malta IAP throughout August, with seat load factor for the month standing at 54.9%.

Malta IAP's top markets for the month under review were Italy, the U.K., Germany, France and Poland, cumulatively accounting for 169,804 movements of August's total passenger traffic.

While August was closed off with 99,204 passenger movements more than July, the introduction of Malta's amber list together with various travel restrictions announced by other countries led to a weaker passenger traffic performance in the second half of the month.

(Source: maltairport.com, 9-Sep-2020)

Turkish Airlines B739 diverts to Malta IAP for medical reason

A Turkisk Airlines Boeing 737-900 (TC-JHY), operating flight TK-4931 between Istanbul (Turkey) and Bamako-Senou IAP (Mali), had to divert to Malta IAP this later afternoon due to a medical emergency on board.  The B739 landed safely on RWY-13 at 1757lt.  The aircraft continued with its flight to Modino-Keita IAP after nearly 65-mins on the ground.  

(Source: radarbox24.com, 6-Sep-2020)

Air Charter Scotland awarded Maltese AOC

Air Charter Scotland has expanded its operations into Europe after being granted an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) by the Transport Malta's Civil Aviation Directorate.  The AOC issued to new sister company, Air Charter Scotland Europe Ltd (AOC number MT-63), is the culmination of several months of planning, and means the company can continue its expansion into E.U. territories.

D. Thomson, Accountable Manager, Air Charter Scotland Europe Ltd., said: "The presentation of our Maltese AOC marks a significant step in our ability to grow our managed fleet of corporate private jets.  It further enhances our ability to provide the highest level of responsiveness and customer service standards.

We appreciate it is an uncertain time in aviation but we see this new venture as a very positive step in our future and look forward to continuing to exceed our customers' expectations and to contribute toward the development of business aviation."

Air Charter Scotland Europe Ltd has already sourced its first aircraft, a Challenger 350, with more to be added before the end of this year.

(Source:  corporatejetinvestor.com, 1-Sep-2020)