Seven airlines cancel 278 flights from Italy and other markets

Seven airlines have already cancelled 278 flights from Italy and other markets, Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg said yesterday.

MIA said February’s overall traffic result was positive, with the 29th boosting the month’s total traffic with 16,986 passenger movements.

The top drivers of traffic for the month were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Spain, with all markets, except for Germany (-5%), registering varying levels of growth.

Despite the positive result, however, seat load factors (SLF), particularly on Italian routes, bore the brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe and declining travel demand, with significant drops registered in the last week of the month.

The seat load factor for the month of February, which measures the occupancy of seats available on flights operated to and from Malta International Airport, stood at 75.8%.

“The COVID-19 outbreak is putting aviation and tourism stakeholders across the globe to the test, as passenger demand for air travel plummets and airlines cut capacity across the board. The last week of February at Malta International Airport gave us but a small taste of what lies ahead; we are now bracing ourselves for two challenging months,” the MIA CEO said.

Borg went on to highlight that the company’s focus right now is on the safety and wellbeing of its guests, employees working on the airport campus, and the general public.

Both Air Malta and Malta Air announced flight cancellations.

Air Malta has suspended its daily flight to Milan until further notice due to the current situation in northern Italy. Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air has suspended flights to and from Bergamo and Treviso.

While calling for calm, Air Malta stated that the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation do not suggest restricting flights to and from Milan in their recommendations.

However, on consultation with the prime minister, the minister responsible and government agencies, the management of Air Malta has resolved to take this decisive action as a measure of reassurance.

“The safety of our passengers, crew and staff, and the concerns raised by the people of Malta is our first priority,” Air Malta said in a statement. All passengers affected by the cancellation of flights will be notified.

Air Malta said that it is constantly monitoring the evolving situation and will announce any changes as they arise.

In a similar move, Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air has suspended flights to and from Bergamo and Treviso. The decision was taken yesterday morning by the interministerial committee on COVID-19 to stop the Ryanair flights from the areas in Italy hit by a lockdown. Malta Air officials held talks with Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Minister for Tourism.