This week, two veteran captains have retired from KM Malta Airlines.
Yesterday marked the end of an illustrious flying career for Captain James Dunford. After more than three decades in aviation and accumulating over 19,700 flight hours, be completed his final flight on 19th March at the controls of Airbus A320 9H-NEC on a rotation to Rome Fiumicino. He was accompanied in the flight deck by Captain Gordon Agius.
Gordon Agius and James Dunford / LinkedIn
Captain Dunford’s journey in aviation began in an unexpected way. He initially joined the then national carrier, Air Malta, as a temporary cabin crew member. After two years in the role, he transitioned to Flight Operations in October 1994 as a First Officer. His dedication and skill saw him rise through the ranks, earning his promotion to Captain in June 2003.
Beyond his professional career, Captain Dunford has been a well-known figure in Malta’s motorsport scene, regularly competing in hill climb events behind the wheel of his Elia racing car.
Reflecting on his career, Captain Dunford took to LinkedIn to share his thoughts and emotions on his final day as a pilot. In his heartfelt post, he wrote: "Today marks my last flight at KM Malta Airlines after a total of 33 years. It’s been an amazing journey and a career that I dreamt of doing as a kid at school."
"In the past 30 years I have carried thousands of people, for their holidays, medical appointments or meetings, including: VIPs, Presidents, Ministers, Prime Ministers, famous singers, actors, racecar drivers and who knows what else, but today I had the honour of carrying the most important people in my life, all my family," he concluded.
Captain Dunford was not the only veteran pilot bidding farewell to the flight deck this week. After more than 32 years at Air Malta, which subsequently transitioned into KM Malta Airlines, Captain Antoine Fava has also decided to retire from the left-hand seat at the national carrier.
Over the years, Captain Fava flew the Boeing 737-200, the B737-300, and later the NG series, before finally concluding his flying career at KM Malta Airlines on the Airbus A320. Throughout his career, he amassed more than 18,195 flight hours and accumulated over 2,500 hours in the simulator as a TRI/TRE (Type Rating Instructor/Examiner).
Captain Fava completed his final flight on 18th March, operating a rotation to Vienna. Accompanying him on the flight deck for this significant journey was MAviO Award winner Captain Mark Attard.
