Air Malta will be restarting flights to Manchester on a weekly basis as of May 2018 after the service was axed earlier this year.

The airline announced last December that the popular route would be scrapped from May 2017 to focus on other, more profitable services.

The decision was met with widespread criticism, but Air Malta said it had been projected to lose up to €2 million in variable costs by operating the route with four flights per week this summer, and that the “expensive” route should have been axed “many years ago”.

But industry sources told this newspaper Air Malta had now secured a commitment, as of May next year, for a significant portion of seats to be taken up by tour operators on the Manchester route, making the route viable.

A significant portion of seats will be taken up by tour operators on the Manchester route, making the route viable- "

“The airline is committed to continue expanding its routes and flight frequencies to Europe’s main airports in line with its growth strategy,” sources said.

The decision follows news in recent months that the airline will also be resuming flights to Frankfurt, discontinued last year, as from November, as well as a new service to Tunis.

Announcing the reintroduction, the carrier said the Frankfurt service would be supported by an aggressive sales force as it reorganises its commercial effort in Germany and other major markets, mainly across Europe.

Air Malta also announced recently that a new aircraft would be added to the fleet of eight by next summer, giving the airline the “flexibility to increase frequencies on its more popular services while also allowing it to add new destinations, some of which may be currently unserved by other carriers".