'One of the best airshows in Europe'

As the aircraft and crew that took part in this weekend's airshow fly out of the island today, the Malta Aviation Society (MAS) will start thinking about the next one, to be held at about this time next year.

"We will start planning next year's airshow as soon as this is over," airshow press officer Mario Zammit said yesterday.

"We will be thinking about who we should invite although experience has taught us when the best time is to send the invitations to the different countries.

"Sometimes, after we send invitations, we get so many acceptances that we have to refuse some of them. Then we start getting cancellations. Organising an airshow is no easy, plain sailing task."

The airshow is organised by the MAS together with Malta International Airport. They are supported by Malta Air Traffic Services and the Armed Forces.

"For as long as the airshow has been organised, the AFM has always organised a display, which it trains for purposely. So the airshow also acts as a stimulus to promote excellence within the army," Mr Zammit said.

Although it was still too early yesterday to say what the attendance at this year's airshow has been, Mr Zammit said it usually hovered between 10,000 and 15,000 people.

The airshow costs Lm35,000 to Lm40,000 to organise, with the biggest chunk going towards insurance, an expense which is constantly on the rise. Then there was accommodation for air and ground crews and transport to pay for.

As most of the costs are financed from entrance fees, it is never guaranteed that the full expenses will indeed be covered.

The organisers, Mr Zammit said, were now trying to promote Malta's airshow to people who travelled for airshows and the MAS was in contact with a specialised UK tour operator.

Quality wise, Malta's airshow was one of the best in Europe, he said. This was acknowledged by aviation buffs and publications. Malta's was also the first and only airshow worldwide to have once included the participation of the Israeli Air Force.

It was considered to be second only to the Royal International Air Tattoo, which was massive. Malta's airshow was also the season's last in Europe so participants seemed to make an even bigger effort.

And some of the participants, such as the Italian Guardia di Finanza, did not take part in any other airshows except for those in their own country.

For the first time, the 14th the Irish Air Corps were represented this year. Their fleet included a CASA CN235 from the Irish Air Corps used for maritime patrols. This type of aircraft was also a first for Malta.

The Swiss Air Force PC-7 team were also here for the first time and the Wings of Storm team from Croatia, who were to have made their first visit, cancelled at the last minute. This would also have been Croatia's first representation in Malta's airshow.

Mr Zammit pointed out that the defence budgets of many countries were facing ever increasing cuts and airshows were the first to suffer from spending cutbacks. So it was becoming more and more difficult to attract aircraft.