UK-based aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman will establish a base in Malta through an investment of €1m over a three-year period, under a Heads of Agreement signed with the Malta Industrial Parks, according to a press statement published by the government’s Department of Information (DOI).
An airside land allocation has been assigned for Britten-Norman at the Safi Aviation Park (SAP) after discussions with the Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks. The Maltese government has additionally invested in the building of new hangars at the SAP through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) scheme.
“Malta aims to develop into a fully-fledged aviation centre that supports the entire spectrum of aviation-related services. We are committed to continuing to build a cluster of quality and Britten-Norman’s addition is a testament to the potential of our jurisdiction,” said Christian Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business of Malta.
The aviation cluster in Malta employed a staff of 1,409 by the end of April 2019, which represents an increase of 5.4% as compared to the same month in the previous year. The Maltese government expects the deal to support the growth of the aviation cluster further through the 14 new jobs the UK firm will create.
Britten-Norman has applied for approvals from Transport Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate for a number of procedures, and its operations will have multiple facets, according to the press statement.
The company has also applied for an Air Training Organisation certificate, under which they will be able to train pilots in Malta, as well as for a Maintenance Training Organisation certificate for training engineers and technicians.
Britten-Norman is weighing the possibility of registering a number of its aircraft in the Malta registry and has recently entered a new three-year agreement for training of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) pilots, according to the DOI press statement.