Malta International Airport

Coordinates: 35°51′27″N 014°28′39″E / 35.85750°N 14.47750°E / 35.85750; 14.47750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Malta International Airport

L-Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta
AMSL
300 ft / 91 m
Coordinates35°51′27″N 014°28′39″E / 35.85750°N 14.47750°E / 35.85750; 14.47750
Websitemaltairport.com
Map
MLA is located in Malta
MLA
MLA
Location on a map of Malta
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 2,377 7,799 Asphalt/concrete
13/31 3,544 11,627 Asphalt/concrete
Statistics (2022 [1])
Passengers5,851,079
Passenger change 21-22Increase 130.33%
Aircraft movements40,355
Movements change 21-22Increase 64.61%
Cargo (kilos)16,385,725
Cargo change 21-22Increase 10.01%
  • RWY source: ARINC eff. 2020-01-30[2]

Malta International Airport (Maltese: L-Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta, IATA: MLA, ICAO: LMML) is the only airport in Malta, and it serves the whole of the Maltese Islands.

It is located on the

Area Control Center and hosts the annual Malta Airshow. The airport is operated by Malta International Airport plc
.

History

Early years

The first civil airfield was constructed at

Second World War, the airfields at Ta' Qali and Ħal Far were severely battered and civil operations subsequently centred on Luqa Airport.[3]

Airspeed Ambassador G-ALZW of British European Airways, at Luqa airport in October 1956

The increase in passenger handling and aircraft movements necessitated the construction of a civil air terminal. Preparations started in 1956, and the

Governor of Malta Sir Robert Laycock. The air terminal consisted of two floors including some basic facilities such as a restaurant, a post office, a cable and wireless office and a viewing balcony for the public.[citation needed
]

In October 1977, a new and longer runway was launched and works commenced on the extension and refurbishment of the air terminal.[3] An arrivals lounge and another lounge dedicated to VIPs were added and the original part of the terminal building was used for departures.

This refurbishment was not enough as it still lacked certain essential facilities. Immediately after a change in government in 1987, the new administration decided that the 35-year-old terminal was past its time (Luqa Terminal) and therefore gave the green light for the construction of a new air terminal along Park 9 (now located in Gudja).[citation needed][4]

Until the construction of the new air terminal was completed, the Government embarked on a further upgrade of the old air terminal.[when?] The facilities introduced included air conditioning, new baggage carousels, flight information monitors, computerised check-in desks, a new floor surface and new retail outlets including a larger duty-free area.

Development since the 1990s

The foundation stone of the present air terminal in Gudja was laid in September 1989 and it was inaugurated in record time 29 months later, in February 1992. Malta International Airport became fully operational on 25 March 1992, and the old Luqa passenger terminal was effectively closed down after 35 years.[5] In November 1995, Balkan Bulgarian Airlines introduced a flight from Sofia to New York City that stopped in Malta. The service on Boeing 767s resulted from a partnership between Balkan and Air Malta.[6][7][8]

Its passenger numbers have increased from 3.5 million in 2011 to 6.0 million in 2017.

Boeing 777-300. The airport has received occasional visits by the Airbus A380, usually for repainting at one of the local maintenance facilities.[11]

Facilities

. The airport has hosted the event since the 1990s.

Overview

The airport has a single passenger terminal which became fully operational on 25 March 1992. This replaced the old Luqa terminal which is by 2020 mostly used for cargo. Malta International Airport air terminal operations include general passenger services, and the operation of an extensive range of retail services at the airport, airside and landside shops, restaurants, and other outlets, which are all operated on concession agreements. The airport offers one VIP lounge, the La Valette Club.[12] The airport also hosts several maintenance facilities including those operated by Lufthansa Technik and SR Technics.

Other facilities

The head office of Medavia is on the airport property.[13]

Located within the grounds of Malta International Airport, the Business Centre is the first building in Malta to have applied for BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) to become the island's first Grade A office park. The head office of Air Malta is at Level 2 of the Skyparks Business Centre.[14]

The Malta Airport MetOffice

Agencia Estatal de Meteorología in Madrid and the UK's Met Office along with numerical weather models such as those provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, England.[17]

Military usage

The Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta is based at Malta International Airport. The Air Wing terminal consists of six hangars. The Air Wing operates a total of four fixed-wing aircraft, six helicopters[18] and a UAV.[19]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Malta:[20]

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines[21] Athens
Air France[22] Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Nice,[28] Palermo,[28] Prague (all end 30 March 2024)[26]
Belgrade[29]
airBaltic[30] Seasonal: Riga, Tallinn (begins 4 May 2024)[31]
British Airways[32] London–Gatwick
easyJet[33] London–Gatwick, Manchester
Seasonal: Amsterdam (begins 26 April 2024),[34] Basel/Mulhouse (begins 18 May 2024),[35] Bristol (begins 3 April 2024), Geneva, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Nice (begins 27 June 2024)[36]
Emirates[37] Dubai–International, Larnaca
Eurowings Seasonal: Düsseldorf,[38] Hamburg[38]
Israir Airlines[39]
Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Rome–Fiumicino[41]
Jet2.com[42] Manchester
Seasonal: Belfast–International (begins 28 March 2024),[43] Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh (begins 1 May 2024),[44] Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool (begins 1 May 2025),[45] London–Stansted, Newcastle upon Tyne
Zürich (all begin 31 March 2024)[26]
Lufthansa[46][47] Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair[48] Luxembourg[49]
Norwegian Air Shuttle[50] Seasonal: Copenhagen, Oslo
Zürich
Transavia[62] Seasonal: Nantes, Paris–Orly
Tunisair Express[63] Tunis
Turkish Airlines[64] Istanbul
Palermo (begins 1 May 2024),[66] Pécs-Pogány (begins 26 March 2024)[67]
Seasonal: Corfu (begins 1 June 2024),[68] Ibiza (begins 31 May 2024)[69]
Vueling[70] Barcelona
Seasonal: Bilbao
Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Katowice, Skopje, Warsaw–Chopin
HelloFly Seasonal: Lampedusa Airport (begins 28 June 2024), Palermo Airport (begins 24 April 2024)

Statistics

Luqa airfield in 1941
Arrivals area
Apron view of the main building
EgyptAir Boeing 707
at Malta International Airport in 1985

Busiest routes (by country)

Busiest international routes out of Malta International Airport by country (2022)[1]
Rank Country Passenger Movements % Change (vs 2021)
1  Italy 1,321,371 Increase 169.65
2  United Kingdom 1,059,286 Increase 120.24
3  France 567,855 Increase 137.05
4  Germany 557,736 Increase 80.51
5  Poland 278,595 Increase 115.74
6  Spain 215,000 Increase 125.20
7  Turkey 149,466 Increase 87.25
8  Belgium 149,415 Increase 79.24
9  Switzerland 139,733 Increase 107.08
10  Austria 133,400 Increase 95.50

Busiest airlines

Top 10 passenger airlines out of Malta International Airport (2016)[9]
Rank Airline Passengers % Change (vs 2015)
1 Ryanair 1,731,881 Increase 41.30
2 Air Malta 1,600,408 Decrease 7.47
3 EasyJet 279,266 Decrease 15.75
4 Lufthansa 230,965 Increase 7.21
5 Wizz Air 177,420 Increase 17.33
6 Turkish Airlines 132,521 Increase 11.98
7 Alitalia 111,504 Increase 24.91
8 Emirates 88,329 Decrease 3.45
9 British Airways 80,024 Decrease 0.97
10 Vueling 73,131 Decrease 8.28

Ground transportation

Bus

Malta International Airport is served also by several buses operated by private transportation groups and public transport operated by Malta Public Transport.

Malta Public Transport buses serve the airport. A mixture of Express and local services are available.[72]

Car

The airport is located 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of the capital, Valletta.

Accidents and incidents

References

  1. ^ a b "Annual Review 2022" (PDF). Malta International Airport.
  2. ^ "LMML – Malta Gudja Airport". SkyVector. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020. Data source: ARINC Data Effective 2020-01-30 0901Z
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External links

Media related to Malta International Airport at Wikimedia Commons