No landing fees for winter schedule at Malta Airport

Malta International Airport has announced that for the current winter schedule from November 2011 to March 2012, it will be giving a 100% refund to all scheduled airlines on all their landing fees with the aim to stimulate traffic during the shoulder/winter months.

CEO Austin Calleja said that Malta Airport has already announced that 2011 will be another record year, and that this incentive related to commercial scheduled passenger traffic is being enacted to keep the momentum reached.

“With the success registered during this summer, we see the need to invest in the shoulder/winter months by making it easier for airlines to operate to and from our airport. All our scheduled airlines – amongst which: Air Malta, Ryanair, easyJet, Lufthansa, Emirates, Alitalita and Egyptair – will benefit from this initiative, and consequentially so will our tourism industry,”Calleja said.

Calleja said MIA has always been conscious of the crucial role it has in the tourism industry of the Maltese Islands, and that this initiative was part of a mission for more airlines to bring visitors, especially on the increasingly popular city/weekend breaks during a difficult period of the year for local tourism operators.

“This initiative will mean that the company will forfeit its revenue from the landing fees within this period, but it considers this as an investment aimed specifically at addressing the ever-present issue of seasonality.”

MIA is considering other incentive schemes for 2012 to continue investing in making the airport and consequentially Malta, more attractive for airlines to operate from.