Emirates Airlines is celebrating 20 years of scheduled flights to Malta, during which it has carried some 900,000 passengers.

The airline said its operation supports over 660 direct and indirect jobs and is an important tourism, business and freight link to the East.

Over the past five years alone, Emirates carried close to 7,000 tonnes of cargo to and from Malta, with main imports being pharmaceuticals and fresh fish, while main exports include electrical components and pharmaceuticals.

The first flight between Dubai and Malta was operated on March 30, 1998 via Athens. It initially flew with two weekly flights on an Airbus A300. In October
2005, the airline added two more flights, making the service four times weekly to Malta through Larnaca, Cyprus. In 2008 it again increased flights, to make
it a daily service, introducing a Boeing 777-300ER. Currently, the Emirates operation to Malta carries over 2500 passengers to and from the region each week.

Emirates Country Manager in Malta, Paul Fleri Soler said the airline was proud to have a created a daily connection for travellers to Dubai, the Far East and beyond, which continues to increase in popularity.  

“The Malta route is primarily an inbound one and the main inbound markets are Japan, Australia, the UAE, China and the Philippines while strong outbound markets are Dubai, Australia and leisure destinations in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean,” he added.