Air Malta unveiled a new integrated control centre on Sunday as part of upgrades which the airline said would allow it to respond more effectively to any disruptions or emergencies.

The new control room at the airline’s Skyparks offices will bring together key decision makers on different parts of the airline’s operations, including controllers, engineering, and commercial personnel.

CEO Clifford Chetcuti said the airline’s emergency response room had also been upgraded. Senior management will be located directly adjacent to the response room, allowing decisions to be taken quicker and communicated to customers more effectively.

Mr Chetcuti said the upgrades were part of a drive to improve the airline’s operations to allow it to continue moving forward after encouraging results in recent years.

Tourism minister Konrad Mizzi said Air Malta was aiming to become the “airline of the Mediterranean”.

Apart from the operational upgrades, he said, the airline would continue strengthening its route offerings, with services to Cairo set to begin soon and plans to extend into medium-haul routes, starting with Mumbai.

Dr Mizzi said the once-ailing airline had continued to post encouraging financial results, adding that the upcoming annual general meeting would “reveal a nice surprise”.