Malta International Airport is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole
of the Maltese Islands. It is located on island of Malta, between Luqa and Gudja,
and occupies the location of the former RAF Luqa. It was completely
re-furbished, becoming fully operational on 25 March 1992. It is still referred
to by locals as Luqa Airport, and sometimes as Valletta Airport
internationally, as it is located 5 km southwest of the Maltese capital
Valletta. The airport serves as the main hub for
Air Malta and a base for Ryanair. It is also home to the Area Control Center and
hosts the annual Malta Airshow, visited by military and civil aircraft from
various European and other countries. The airport is operated by Malta
International Airport plc. History
The first civil airfield was constructed at Ta' Qali, followed by others at Ħal
Far and Luqa. During the Second World War, the airfields at Ta' Qali and Hal
Far were severely battered and civil operations subsequently centred on Luqa
Airport. The increase in passenger handling and
aircraft movements necessitated the construction of a civil air terminal.
Preparations started in 1956 and the British Government mainly financed what
was then a Lm 300,000 project. Malta's new passenger air terminal at Luqa was
inaugurated on 31 March 1958 by the then 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. Air traffic constantly increased and new
airlines with larger aircraft started operations. The introduction of jet
aircraft decreased flying times and consequently attracted more people to
travel by air. In October 1977, a new and longer runway
was launched and works commenced on the extension and refurbishment of the air
terminal. 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 the change in Government in 1987, the new
administration decided that the 35-year-old terminal was past its time
and therefore gave the green light for the construction of a new air terminal
along Park 9. Until the construction of the new air
terminal was completed, the Government embarked on a further upgrade of the old
air terminal. 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.
The foundation stone of the present air terminal 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 March 25, 1992, and the
old Luqa passenger terminal was effectively closed down after 35 years.
Ryanair based one aircraft in Malta from May 2010, increasing to two from May
2012. There was a small increase in the volume
of traffic that passed through Malta International Airport in 2011.
Passengers were up by 6.46% from the previous year, however aircraft
movements were down by 3.16%. Facilities
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 also leases office space to
airlines and other travel related operators at the airport. Malta
International Airport is a member of the ACI-EUROPE and a number of company
officials sit on specialised committees and working groups within this council.
= Transport and parking= Car hire companies including Avis,
Hertz, Thrifty, First Car Rental and Active Car Rental are located in the
Welcomers' Hall. Taxis are available 24 hours a day from
the airport to any destination in Malta. Fixed rates are applicable and pre-paid
tickets can be purchased from the ticket booth inside the Welcomers' Hall on
Arrivals. Alternatively it is recommended to book a private hire cab
prior to arrival. The airport car parking has considerably
increased during 2009. It offers therefore a larger capacity for parking
handled and managed by MIA. = Shopping and eating=
Shops at the airport include news kiosk, florist and tax-free outlets, Food and
Beverage outlets. A number of them are accessible to the public. It has also
opened a new food court – the Jet Express – inside the Departure Lounge.
Jet Express is the latest addition to the array of outlets under the Airport
Value brand and provides an open-air court offering a large variety of
beverages, snacks and hot meals. = Further facilities=
Automated money exchange dispensers and ATM are available on the passengers area
and arrivals. Also a 24-hour service of exchange bureau can be find on arrivals
area. In addition, there is a post office and a telecommunications centre,
located in the terminal. Wireless Internet access is available throughout
the airport. A left luggage service is available 24-hours a day, as is a
luggage secure-wrapping service. Malta International Airport has improved
services for disabled and reduced mobility people to ensure an easier
transit through the airport terminal to the aircraft and similarly on return.
The terminal has wheelchair-accessible toilets, ramps and low-level payphones.
Reserved parking spaces are available in the car park. Wheelchairs are available
on request from the Customer Services Centre.
Through La Valette Club, VIP members have an access to lounges: La Valette
Lounge. Internet access is available to lounge users with free Wi-Fi throughout
the area. The signal is strong enough in the club to be picked up for several
metres radius outside La Vallette itself.
The head office of Medavia is on the airport property.
= Pilot Training= Within the grounds of Malta
International Airport is situated several pilot training academies:
European Pilot Academy Sky People Aviation Training Ltd
Diamond Aviation Buzz Flying Ltd – microlight training
= Skyparks Business Centre= Located within the grounds of Malta
International Airport, Skyparks is situated in one of Malta's most
commercially oriented districts. It is the first building in Malta to have
applied for BREEAM certification 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.
= Malta Airport MetOffice= The Malta Airport MetOffice is part of
the Malta International Airport and provides the function of a national
meteorological service for Malta. Although they primarily serve aviation
they also service the public sector. All equipment, other than the Doppler
Weather Radar, is enhanced by automatic weather stations, of which eight are
situated in Malta and Gozo. At the same time an aerodrome weather observation
system is located at the airport and meets World Meteorological
Organization/International Civil Aviation Organization standards. All of
the automated stations meet the ISO 9001:2008 standards.
The MetOffice is able to get information from the 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. Airlines and destinations
Statistics = Routes=
= Airlines= Ground transportation
= Bus= Malta International Airport is
well-served by public transport. Arriva Malta buses serve the airport. A
mixture of Express services and local services are available.:
Express Services Other Local Services
The following routes pass through the airport, but are not express services.
Night Buses Services run between 2300 and 0400 on
Friday and Saturday evenings, all year round.
= Car= The airport is located 5 km southwest of
the capital, Valletta. The city centre and airport are both clearly signposted.
Incidents and accidents On 5 January 1960, Vickers Viscount
G-AMNY of British European Airways was damaged beyond economic repair at Luqa
when it departed the runway after landing following a loss of hydraulic
pressure. On 25 November 1973, Luqa Airport
witnessed the landing of KLM Flight 861. The aircraft, named "Mississippi", was a
Boeing 747 hijacked by three young Arabs over Iraqi airspace on a scheduled
Amsterdam-Tokyo flight with 247 passengers on board, after the hijackers
threatened to blow up the plane when no country would grant landing permission.
Most of the passengers and the eight stewardesses were released after
negotiations with the Maltese PM Dom Mintoff, who argued with the hijackers
that the plane could not possibly take off with both the passengers and the
27,000 gallons of fuel they had demanded, given the short runway. With
11 passengers on board the jumbo jet left Malta to Dubai, where the incident
ended without fatalities. The hijack was claimed by the Arab Nationalist Youth
Organization. On 23 November 1985, Luqa Airport was
the scene of one of the deadliest aircraft hijackings in aviation history.
EgyptAir Flight 648 was forced to land in Malta en–route to Libya. Unit 777 of
the Egyptian counter-terrorism forces was dispatched to deal with the
incident. Storming of the Boeing 737, reluctantly authorised by Maltese
officials after five hostages were shot, resulted in the death of over 60
passengers plus several security personnel, aircrew and members of the
hijackers, the Abu Nidal Organization. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted for
the Lockerbie bombing on the theory that he loaded a bomb onto Air Malta Flight
KM180 Malta-Frankfurt at Luqa Airport which it is alleged found its way via
the interline baggage system onto Pan Am Feeder Flight 103A Frankfurt-London and
eventually onto Pan Am Flight 103 London -New York.
MLA was the origin airport of the Air Malta Flight 830 Malta-Istanbul hijack
which ended in Cologne. On February 21, 2011, two Libyan fighter
pilots, both claiming to be colonels, defected and landed their Mirage F1 jets
at the airport after refusing to carry out orders to fire upon a group of
civilian Libyan protesters in Tripoli. On the same day two Eurocopter Super
Puma helicopters registered in France also landed carrying seven French
nationals who were under Italian contracts to work in Libya.|
Accolades In 2010 Malta International Airport was
awarded the title of "Most Noteworthy Airport for a New Small Budget
Programme" by Passenger Terminal World, the international review of airport
design, technology, security, operations and management. The airport is
classified among the top 15 airports worldwide, joining Dubai, Brussels, San
Francisco, Stockholm, Heathrow, Changi, Barcelona and Vienna, which were also
awarded. The Passenger Terminal World Annual 2010
said "When a new terminal can cost US$1.5 billion it is hard to think that
many wonderful airports are being developed for a fraction of that sum,
but Malta Airport is one such. With its current development programme it is a
small airport with big plans – improving the commercial offer, enlarging security
and other essential services, and gaining plaudits from the country's
population." The company has picked up an
international award for service quality: Best Airport in its category at the ACI
Europe Awards and the Best Airport in Europe across all categories in the ACI
Airport Service Quality. In addition it also won Best Airport in
its category at the ACI Europe Awards and the Best Airport in Europe across
all categories in the ACI Airport Service Quality.
References External links
Official website Current weather for LMML at NOAA/NWS
Accident history for MLA at Aviation Safety Network