KM Malta Airlines’ inaugural flight (KM640), on its first day as Malta’s national airline, will be operated to Catania, Director David Curmi announced.

Starting from 31st March 2024, KM Malta Airlines will be replacing Air Malta, which had been flying under financial pressures for the past years.

Back in October, when Prime Minister Robert Abela and Minister for Finance Clyde Caruana announced the new airline, they stated that over the past 20 years, Air Malta accumulated €356 million losses, with negative equity of €120 million. In addition, in 2019, wages cost Air Malta €48 million to operate 10 aircraft.

Air Malta was established in 1973, operating its first flight the subsequent year. Initially, the airline operated routes to and from Rome, London, Manchester, Paris, Frankfurt, and Tripoli.

On Sunday, sharing the news on LinkedIn, Mr Curmi stated that KM Malta Airlines was established to protect and enhance the islands’ connectivity with Europe and beyond, “and to support their continued economic development.”

“The new airline’s strategy is very clear. We will adopt a key focus on Western Europe, linking Malta with the main capital cities and primary passenger and cargo hubs and connecting with partner airlines through codeshare and interline agreements,” he explained.

He assured that the airline will provide stable, regular, and all-year-round connectivity from Malta to Europe, and beyond, while also highlighting that it is not a low-cost airline.

In December, the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate granted the new airline an Air Operator Certificate and an Air Operator Licence. In addition, it had launched its Summer 2024 schedule scheduled to serving 17 airports across 15 cities, operating a total of 8,546 flights and offering 1,430,000 seats.

In its first week since it opened for bookings, KM Malta Airlines received over 122,000 bookings exclusively through its Call Centre.

“We are committed to being a successful and sustainable business [and] we practice a tolerant and inclusive workplace culture and foster an engaged workforce with sustainability at the forefront,” Mr Curmi concluded.