Air Malta
Air Malta is an airline based in Luqa, Malta. It is the national flag carrier of Malta serving around 50 destinations in Europe and North Africa. Its main base is Malta Luqa International Airport (MLA).
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History
The airline was established on March 21, 1973, when it was created by a resolution of the Malta House of Representatives, and set up as a limited liability company on the 30th of that month. On the 29th, the airline had been provided a certificate that granted rights to operate international services from Malta. The certificate was signed by the prime minister, who granted it with the condition that Air Malta followed certain ownership rules which had been underlined by him.
Air Malta began service on April 1, 1974, with two wet leased Boeing 720s that initially served Rome, Tripoli, London, Manchester, Frankfurt and Paris from Malta's airport.
In 1982, Air Malta signed a purchase contract for 3 Boeing 737s. These were the first brand new planes Air Malta ever had and were delivered early in 1983. In 1986 Air Malta ordered two new 737's, and in 1987, it ordered its first Airbus A320 and sold the two 720's on their fleet. In 1989, Air Malta exercised an option for one more A320, and in 1992, two more 737's were ordered. That year, 4 Avro RJ 70's were ordered, to be put on such routes as Malta to Catania and Palermo and to such new destinations as Tunis and Monastir.
After the opening of the New Malta International Airport in 1992, Air Malta created CargoSystems, which consists of an array of services that includes the air transportation of cargo on Air Malta planes. In 1994 Air Malta inaugurated a cargo center at the airport. The airline employs 1763 staff. It is owned by the Maltese government (98%) and private investors (2%). Air Malta also has a 25% shareholding in Medavia.
Services
Air Malta operates services to the following international scheduled destinations (at January 2005): Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels, Cairo, Cardiff, Casablanca, Catania, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Hamburg, Istanbul, Larnaca, London, Lyon, Manchester, Marseilles, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Nottingham, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Sofia, Tripoli, Tunis, Vienna and Zurich.
In February 2005 Air Malta announced an increase in scheduled destinations to the UK and France, to Nantes, Newcastle and Toulouse.
Fleet
The Air Malta fleet consists of the following aircraft (at April 2005):