RAF aerobatic team The Red Arrows. Photo: SAC Craig Marshall (RAF), MoD/Crown Copyright 2014.

Thirteen countries will be participating in this year’s edition of the Malta International Airshow and the number might increase further over the next few weeks, Malta Aviation Society president Joe Ciliberti said.

The 22nd event – on September 27 and 28 – is set to be the biggest ever, he said during the official launch.

The Maltese public will be treated to four aerobatic teams: the Italian Frecce Tricolori, the Spanish Patrulla Aguila’, the Turkish team Turkish Stars and the RAF Red Arrows.

“This, along with other flying displays such as a Swiss F18, Belgian F16, Czech L-159 Alca, as well as the participation of a total 13 countries, will make this year’s edition the biggest one so far,” Mr Ciliberti said.

The Malta International Airshow is expected to attract thousands of aviation and photography enthusiasts.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said the show was firmly entrenched in the calendar, attracting not only people connected to the aviation industry but also a large number of tourists. He said the Malta Tourism Authority had been a long-term believer and, apart from financial support, it promoted the event through its visitmalta.com portal and its events calendars – distributed through the tourist office network.

“The MTA firmly believes that annually organised high quality events help to promote Malta as an active all year-round destination in its different tourism source markets,” the minister said. He added that the main sponsor, AirX, was an example of how the airshow also provided room for commercial aviation entities to promote Malta as the ideal base for their operations.

The event is also supported by the Armed Forces of Malta, Malta Air Traffic Services, the Civil Protection Department and the police.