A flight operated by Air France touched down at Malta International Airport yesterday evening, marking the launch of a triweekly service to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Air France’s schedule – offering flights every Monday, Friday, and Sunday – will further facilitate air travel between Malta and the capital of France, which country has consistently featured among the airport’s most popular markets for more than a decade. In 2019, France ranked fourth among Malta International Airport’s top five drivers of passenger traffic, with a 6.2 per cent market share.
“Air France’s addition of Malta to its route network as one of its six new European destinations for the summer season, is a reassuring vote of confidence in our islands, especially given the excellent reputation the flag carrier enjoys within the industry. France’s performance since the reopening of tourism has been extremely positive, and we are confident that Air France’s launch of operations will continue to support the recovery of this very important market,” said Alex Cardona, Head of Traffic Development at MIA.
“We are extremely happy to inaugurate this new connection between Malta and Paris thanks to which passengers departing from an important catchment area will be able to connect to the global network of Air France, and tourists all over the world will reach this beautiful destination more easily,” declared Stefan Vanovermeir, DG of Air France-KLM East Mediterranean.
Considering that the Air France summer route network consists of around 200 destinations in Europe and beyond, the new flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport are envisaged to serve both as a point-to-point connection as well as a bridge to long-haul destinations, including overseas French departments such as Fort-de-France on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Cayenne in South America, and Papeete in French Polynesia.
Air France is the third flag carrier to join Malta International Airport’s airline portfolio for the summer months, with LOT Polish and Cyprus Airways having launched operations in June.