Air Malta

Defunct national airline of Malta (1973–2024)

This article is about the defunct airline that was formerly the flag carrier of Malta. For the new airline operating as the flag carrier, see KM Malta Airlines.

Not to be confused with Malta Air.

Air Malta plc

| IATA | ICAO | Call sign

|
|

KM  | AMC  | AIR MALTA
Founded| 31 March 1973 (1973-03-31)
Commenced operations| 1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)
Ceased operations| 30 March 2024 (2024-03-30) (12 months ago)
AOC #| MT-01
Hubs| Malta International Airport
Frequent-flyer program|

* Flypass
* KMiles

Subsidiaries| Malta MedAir
Fleet size| 7
Destinations| 20[1]
Headquarters| Luqa, Malta
Key people|

* David Curmi (Executive Chairman)
* Declan Keller (Chief Operations Officer & Accountable Manager)

Employees| 375
Website| www.airmalta.com

Air Malta, stylized as airmalta, was a Maltese airline headquartered in Luqa and based at Malta International Airport. It operated services as the country's flag carrier to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Air Malta ceased operations on 30 March 2024 and was replaced on the next day with a new flag carrier, KM Malta Airlines.[2][3]

## History

[edit]

Air Malta leased its first Boeing 720B's in 1974 and they were joined by another three a few years later. Once a mainstay of the fleet, the Boeing 737-200 series has since been phased out, seen here at London Heathrow Airport in 1983.

### Early years

[edit]

Shortly after the Second World War, several small private airlines were formed in Malta. Amongst these were The Malta Instone Airline, BAS (Malta) Ltd, and Malta Airlines. In 1947, the former two companies merged to form Air Malta Ltd in fierce competition with the latter. Eventually, in 1951 Malta Airlines absorbed the operations of Air Malta Ltd and continued operating through an agreement with BEA until 1973. The owners of Air Malta Ltd used their real estate, staff, and equipment to set up a ground handling company called MAS, Malta Aviation Services.

In the early 1970s, the Maltese government appointed Albert Mizzi as chairman of the airline and made a call for an international airline partner to help set up an airline and Pakistan's flag carrier PIA was selected for this purpose.[4] The name chosen for the new airline was similar to that of its forerunner, Air Malta Co Ltd, and was established on 31 March 1973. BEA was chartered to continue its Malta operations, this time for Air Malta, until Air Malta's first flight on 1 April 1974. The government took over both Malta Airlines and Malta Aviation Services and the private owners were given a shareholding in Air Malta Co. Ltd.

Air Malta started operations, with two wet leased Boeing 720Bs from Pakistan International Airlines that served Rome, Tripoli, London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Dublin for holiday charters, as well as Paris from Malta. It later bought three more Boeing 720Bs and bought the original two.

In 1981, three Boeing 737-200s were wet-leased, which were so successful that in 1983, three new fully owned Boeing 737-200s were delivered. In 1986, Air Malta bought three new Boeing 737-200s, and in 1987 ordered its first Airbus A320. In 1989, Air Malta exercised an option for one more A320, and in 1992, three more Boeing 737-300s were ordered and four Avro RJ70s were ordered for routes to Catania and Palermo, and to new destinations such as Tunis and Monastir.

After the opening of Malta International Airport in 1992, Air Malta created CargoSystems, which includes the transportation of cargo on Air Malta planes. In 1994, Air Malta inaugurated a cargo center at the airport. It was also during this time that a codesharing agreement with Trans World Airlines began.

### 21st century developments

[edit]

An Air Malta Airbus A320-200 wearing the former livery in 2007

Between 2002 and 2007, Air Malta embarked upon a fleet replacement programme, opting to change all aircraft to Airbus A319s and A320s. The last aircraft in this order, an A320, was delivered on 22 March 2007, and the fleet has not been replaced since.

Air Malta had around 190 interline ticketing agreements with other IATA airlines. According to the Association of European Airlines quarterly review of May 2006, Air Malta was the airline that lost the least amount of passenger baggage. The amount of baggage lost in the first quarter of 2006 was 4.1 bags massing per 1000 passengers.

In winter, the airline often leases out aircraft to maximize earnings during the low season. In September 2007, for instance, Air Malta made two agreements with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways by which Air Malta wet-leased 2 Airbus aircraft to Etihad Airways for the winter period starting 1 September 2007, and provided operational support on another Airbus A320 aircraft leased by Etihad Airways. In January and February 2009 Air Malta wet-leased an A320 to Sky Airline of Chile. From 2011 to 2014 Air Malta wet-leased another A320 to Sky Airline.

In 2012 Air Malta underwent a re-branding process, which caused some controversy as the titles on aircraft and signage only say Malta, omitting the word Air. The airline insisted this was not a name change, and the full name of the airline remains Air Malta. Additionally, the titles on the engines still say airmalta.com. The first plane to show off the new colours was the Airbus A320-200 9H-AEN at the Malta International Airshow 2012. On the second and last day of the show the A320 and a Spitfire performed a flypast as the closing act.

As a commemoration of the airline's 40 years of operation, the airline painted one of its aircraft, 9H-AEI, an A320-200, in retro colours, depicting the livery used on the Boeing 720Bs. The 9H-AEI aircraft debuted on April 16, 2014.

In June 2017, the newly appointed Minister for Tourism announced the restructuring of Air Malta.[5] This was also confirmed by the newly appointed chairman.[6] Air Malta then opened a number of new routes, including Tunis, Malaga (reduced to seasonal in 2019), Comiso (terminated after summer 2018), Kyiv, Lisbon, Casablanca, Southend (terminated in 2019) and Cagliari (subsequently reduced to June–September only).[7] Manchester and Frankfurt were restarted after being briefly terminated.[8]

In March 2019, the airline announced that it had made a profit of €1.2 million in the fiscal year of 2018. This profit was the first the airline has made in 18 years.[9]

### Closure and replacement

[edit]

A former Air Malta Airbus A320neo, which subsequently has been taken over by its successor, KM Malta Airlines.

In August 2022, the Maltese government announced it would dissolve Air Malta should the European Union deny further financial state aid to the airline. It would then relocate its assets to a succeeding carrier.[10] Shortly after, the decision regarding the airline's future had been delayed to the end of 2022; however, the route network and frequencies saw extensive cuts by October 2022, including the termination of several destinations.[11]

On 18 April 2023, Chairman David Curmi announced that the European Commission declined to give permission to the Maltese government to inject 290 million euros of state aid into the airline.[12] In 2023, Air Malta incorporated its aircraft with a new livery with red and dark red on the back of the plane. This livery would be subsequently used by the new airline. Also, a competitive process was to be launched for the new airline to acquire the tender for the Air Malta branding which is owned by a government owned company, IP Holdings, which was set up by former minister Konrad Mizzi to transfer assets to show that the company earned a profit in 2018.[citation needed]

On 2 October 2023, the Maltese government announced the closure of Air Malta for 30 March 2024.[13] It was replaced by KM Malta Airlines the following day.[3][14]

## Corporate affairs

[edit]

The head office of the company was at the Skyparks Business Centre, located on the property of Malta International Airport in Luqa.[15] In the 1960s and 1970s the head office of its predecessor Malta Airlines was in Sliema.[16][17]

## Codeshare agreements

[edit]

Air Malta maintained Codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[18]

* Aeroflot
* airBaltic[19][20]
* Air France
* Air Serbia
* Austrian Airlines
* Brussels Airlines
* Czech Airlines
* Emirates
* Etihad Airways
* ITA Airways[21]
* KLM
* Lufthansa
* Qatar Airways
* Swiss International Air Lines
* Turkish Airlines

## Fleet

[edit]

### Final fleet

[edit]

As of March 2024[update] and prior to the closure of operations, Air Malta operated the following aircraft:[22]

Air Malta fleet Aircraft  | Number  | Orders  | Passengers  | Notes

|
|
|
|

J  | Y  | Total
Airbus A320-200 | 1  | -- | 12  | 150  | 162  | All transferred to KM Malta Airlines
Airbus A320neo | 6  | -- | 12  | 162  | 174
Total  | 7  | -- |  |  |  |

### Former fleet

[edit]

Air Malta previously also operated the following aircraft types:[citation needed]

Air Malta former fleet Aircraft  | Total  | Introduced  | Retired  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Airbus A310-300 | 2  | 1994  | 1996  | Leased from Lufthansa and Sabena
Airbus A319-100 | 7  | 2001  | 2019  | [23]
Avro RJ70 | 4  | 1994  | 1998  | [24]
BAC One-Eleven 500 | 1  | 1975  | 1975  | Leased from British Caledonian
Boeing 720B | 7  | 1978  | 1989  | [25]
Boeing 727-200 | Un­known  | Un­known  | Un­known  | One leased to Faucett Perú[26]
Boeing 737-200 | 9  | 1980  | 2004  | [24]
Boeing 737-300 | 12  | 1993  | 2008  | [24]
Boeing 737-400 | 4  | 1998  | 2000  | [27]
Boeing 737-500 | 1  | 2001  | 2001  | Leased from Maersk Air
Boeing 737-700 | 2  | 2000  | 2000
British Aerospace 146-200 | 1  | 1993  | 1993  | Leased from British Aerospace
British Aerospace ATP | 1  | 1992  | 1993  | Leased from SATA Air Açores
Convair 880 | 1  | 1977  | 1979  | [28]
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 | 1  | 1979  | 1980  | Leased from Austrian Airlines
McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 | 1  | 2008  | 2008  | Leased from Hello[29]

## Incidents and accidents

[edit]

OB-1303, the Faucett Perú Boeing 727 which disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on 11 September 1990, while on a transferral flight following the end of a lease to Air Malta

Air Malta had no fatal accidents throughout its five decades of operation. Incidents involving Air Malta aircraft include:

* On 31 October 1981, after a Boeing 737-200 landed in Cairo, Egypt, two bombs exploded, injuring four people. A third bomb that failed to detonate was found later.[30][31]
* On 21 December 1988, Air Malta Flight 180 played an unintentional role when an unaccompanied baggage containing a timed explosive was checked onto the flight out of Luqa Airport to Frankfurt Airport, where it was loaded as interline baggage to the first leg of Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to London-Heathrow Airport. The bomb in the unaccompanied baggage then exploded on Pan Am 103's transatlantic leg while it was flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing a total of 270 people.[citation needed]
* On 9 June 1997, Air Malta Flight 830, a Boeing 737-200, was hijacked by two Turks on a flight from Malta to Istanbul, Turkey. They demanded the release of Mehmet Ali Ağca. The hijack ended in Cologne, Germany, with no casualties amongst the 74 passengers and 6 crew.[32][33]
* On 19 January 2004, Air Malta Flight 642, an Airbus A320, hit a pylon at Malta International Airport while taxiing prior to takeoff. There were no injuries among the crew and 27 passengers on board, while damage to the aicraft's wing amounted to around $2 million.[34][35]

In addition, on 11 September 1990 a Faucett Perú Boeing 727 which had been leased to Air Malta disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean while it was being ferried back to Peru from Malta upon the end of its lease, with 16 presumed fatalities.

## See also

[edit]

* List of defunct airlines of Malta

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Air Malta on ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
2. ^ Scicluna, Christopher (2 October 2023). "Air Malta to close in March, new airline to replace it, PM says". Reuters. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
3. ^ a b "Maltese government to shut down and relaunch flag carrier". Business Traveller. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
4. ^ "History". Retrieved 29 September 2023.
5. ^ Watch: No strategic partner before Air Malta is restructured - Konrad Mizzi
6. ^ Air Malta shareholding only after restructuring - Mangion
7. ^ Air Malta connects Malta with North Africa again, new scheduled Services to Tunis start 26th of June
8. ^ Air Malta announces Frankfurt flight schedule as from end October
9. ^ "Air Malta registers profit, but 'not out of the woods yet'".
10. ^ aerotelegraph.com (German) 19 August 2022
11. ^ aviation.direct (German) 26 September 2022
12. ^ maltatoday.com.mt (English) 18 April 2023
13. ^ The Air Malta Story Airliner World July 2024 page 66-71
14. ^ Maltese makeover Airliner World Octobe4 2024 pages 88-93
15. ^ "Contact Us Archived 2 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Air Malta. Retrieved on 21 September 2014. "Head Office Air Malta plc Level 2, Skyparks Business Centre Malta International Airport Luqa, Malta. LQA 4000"
16. ^ Flight International. 2 April 1964. 519 (Archive). "Head Office: Airways House, High Street, Sliema, Malta GC."
17. ^ Flight International. 6 May 1971. p. 636 (Archive). "Head office: Airways House, 6-10 High Street, Sliema, Malta."
18. ^ "Airmalta Partners". airmalta.com. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
19. ^ Liu, Jim (20 April 2018). "airmalta / airBaltic begins codeshare service in S18". Routesonline. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
20. ^ Liu, Jim (24 April 2019). "airBaltic / airmalta expands codeshare network from April 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
21. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David. "New Italian carrier ITA to codeshare with Air Malta". Flight Global. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
22. ^ "List of Registered Aircraft". transport.gov.mt. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
23. ^ "Air Malta retires last A319". Ch-aviation. 16 October 2019.
24. ^ a b c "World Airline Directory". Flight International. 29 March 1995. p. 50.
25. ^ "World Airline Directory". Flight International. 22 April 1978. p. 1130.
26. ^ https://www.airliners.net, photos of Air Malta Boeing 727-200 aircraft
27. ^ "World Airline Directory". Flight International. 24 March 1999. p. 46.
28. ^ https://www.airliners.net, photo of Air Malta Convair 880 aircraft
29. ^ "Air Malta MD-90".
30. ^ Bombing description at the Aviation Safety Network
31. ^ Micallef, Mark (16 November 2014). "Air Malta 'almost had a Lockerbie-style disaster'". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024.
32. ^ "TVM News report regarding hijackings in Malta". Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
33. ^ "Air Malta Flight 830 Report". Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
34. ^ "Air Malta plane hits pylon". Times of Malta. 20 January 2004. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024.
35. ^ Bonello, Jesmond (2 February 2004). "Indiscipline thought to have played a part in Air Malta jet accident". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024.

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[edit]

Media related to Air Malta at Wikimedia Commons

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