Air Malta has launched its summer 2022 flight schedule and reported strong early booking numbers, with its aircraft operating program having returned to “full utilisation at pre-COVID levels.”

The seven-month schedule, which runs from 27th March till 29th October, will see the airline operate 125 weekly return direct services to 18 key European airports, across 10 different countries.

London Heathrow will be the most served route with 15 weekly scheduled flights, followed by Munich (12), Rome (10), and Paris with nine weekly frequencies on Orly and seven weekly frequencies to and from Paris’s Charles De Gaulle airport. Amsterdam, whilst operating a daily service, will see this increasing to eight services per week during July - October.

Notably, it has relaunched its routes to both London Gatwick and Madrid, after being forced to abandon them due to the pandemic.

Announcing the launch of the new schedule, the airline’s Executive Chairman David Curmi explained that the “ambitious” flight programme reflects its belief that travel and tourism will “bounce back” this summer, after a turbulent period dominated by the COVID pandemic.

“We are effectively doubling our operational capacity over this past winter,” he explained. “It is a strong commitment by Air Malta towards the travelling public and the industry, both for inbound tourism and outgoing local Maltese community.”

The airline’s focus remains on its core markets at the main city airports of the UK, Italy, Germany and France, and it is also maintaining and growing other established routes, including its Lyon destination, which is increasing in frequency from two to five services weekly.

Additionally, Mr Curmi explained that the airline will "continue to work closely with [its] partner airlines driving connectivity all over [its] European hub airports through code-share agreements with airBaltic, Air France, ITA, KLM, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Swiss International Air Lines and Turkish Airlines."

This summer Air Malta will be operating direct flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Catania, Dusseldorf, Geneva, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Paris Orly, Rome Fiumicino, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan Linate, Munich, Lyon, Prague, Vienna, and Zurich.