Julian Jäger, a joint CEO of Flughafen Wien and former CEO of Malta International Airport (MIA), on Thursday marked 45 years of continuous Air Malta service between the destinations, proclaiming: “Non-stop to the jewel in the Meditteranean.”

Taking to social media to mark the anniversary, Mr Jäger shared that to mark the occasion, crew and passengers on the flight to Vienna on Thursday were given a small gift in the form of traditional Viennese cake – Sacherwürfel.

Discussing Malta, he reflected: “For almost five years I myself got to know the beauty of the Mediterranean island as CEO of MIA. So I speak from experience when I say: This island is always worth a trip.”

Mr Jäger served MIA for just short of five years, first as Chief Commercial Officer, then as CEO.

Vienna is one of 18 European airports that will be served by Air Malta this summer, under a schedule which sees the airline recapture a significant proportion of its pre-COVID routes.

The airline will also 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, and Zurich.