Three airlines eye Malta routes

Two low-cost airlines and a national airline have expressed an interest in operating the Madrid, Stockholm and Oslo routes, according to Malta International Airport.

Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said, when asked, that Europe's leading budget airline Ryanair, which has been flying to Malta on other routes since the end of October, was not among the applicants.

Meanwhile, in just one month of operations, the Irish airline has already flown 6,000 passengers on the two Malta routes, Dr Zammit Dimech said, pushing November passenger movements up 5.5 per cent over last year. Tourism figures for the rest of the year had been generally down.

Negotiations on the new routes are expected to start by next month and if all goes to plan, the service may start by next summer, Dr Zammit Dimech told The Times.

The call for proposals was launched by the government in conjunction with MIA and was addressed to airlines willing to operate to Malta from selected routes. MIA will give up to 50 per cent discount on its passenger service fees and landing charges on flights from airports in Spain, Sweden, Norway and Poland. The government will also provide market support.

A low-cost airline and a legacy airline have shown an interest in operating to Spain while a "leading" low-cost Scandinavian airline will be starting negotiations to operate both the Stockholm and Oslo routes.

"It's very positive that new airlines are showing an interest in starting the service as this means there's a wider mix," Dr Zammit Dimech said.