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( February 2013 ) Malta International Airport Ajruport Internazzjonali ta ' Malta IATA : MLA ICAO : LMML Summary Airport type Public Owner Malta International Airport plc Serves Valletta Location Luqa, Malta Hub for Air Malta Focus city for Ryanair Elevation AMSL 300 ft / 91 m Coordinates 35 ° 51 ′ 27 '' N 014 ° 28 ′ 39 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 35.85750 ° N 14.47750 ° E ﻿ / 35.85750 ; 14.47750 Coordinates : 35 ° 51 ′ 27 '' N 014 ° 28 ′ 39 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 35.85750 ° N 14.47750 ° E ﻿ / 35.85750 ; 14.47750 Website maltairport.com Map MLA Location on a map of Malta Runways Direction Length Surface m ft 05 / 23 2,377 7,800 Asphalt 13 / 31 3,544 11,627 Asphalt Statistics ( 2017 ) Passengers 6,014,548 Aircraft Movements 42,987 Cargo & Mail ( tonnes ) 16,177 Source : Maltese AIP at EUROCONTROL Statistics from timesofmalta Malta International Airport ( Maltese : Ajruport Internazzjonali ta ' Malta, IATA : MLA, ICAO : LMML ) is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole of the Maltese Islands. It is located on island of Malta, between Luqa and Gudja, and occupies the location of the former RAF Luqa. It was completely refurbished, becoming fully operational on 25 March 1992. It is still referred to by locals as Luqa Airport, and sometimes as Valletta Airport internationally, as it is located 5 km ( 3.1 mi ) southwest of the Maltese capital Valletta. The airport serves as the main hub for Air Malta and a base for Ryanair. It is also home to the Area Control Center and hosts the annual Malta Airshow, visited by military and civil aircraft from various countries. The airport is operated by Malta International Airport plc. Contents 1 History 2 Facilities 2.1 Further facilities 2.2 Pilot Training 2.3 Military use 2.4 Skyparks Business Centre 2.5 Malta Airport MetOffice 3 Airlines and destinations 4 Statistics 4.1 Busiest routes 4.2 Busiest airlines 5 Ground transportation 5.1 Bus 5.2 Car 6 Accidents and incidents 7 Accolades 8 References 9 External links History Luqa airfield in 1941 The first civil airfield was constructed at Ta ' Qali, followed by others at Ħal Far ( RAF Hal Far ) and Luqa. During the Second World War, the airfields at Ta ' Qali and Hal Far were severely battered and civil operations subsequently centred on Luqa Airport. The increase in passenger handling and aircraft movements necessitated the construction of a civil air terminal. Preparations started in 1956 and the British Government mainly financed what was then a Lm 300,000 project. Malta 's new passenger air terminal at Luqa was inaugurated on 31 March 1958 by the then Governor of Malta Sir Robert Laycock. The air terminal consisted of two floors including some basic facilities such as a restaurant, a post office, a cable and wireless office and a viewing balcony for the public. In October 1977, a new and longer runway was launched and works commenced on the extension and refurbishment of the air terminal. An arrivals lounge and another lounge dedicated to VIPs were added and the original part of the terminal building was used for departures. This refurbishment was not enough as it still lacked certain essential facilities. Immediately after the change in Government in 1987, the new administration decided that the 35 - year - old terminal was past its time and therefore gave the green light for the construction of a new air terminal along Park 9. Until the construction of the new air terminal was completed, the Government embarked on a further upgrade of the old air terminal. The facilities introduced included air conditioning, new baggage carousels, flight information monitors, computerised check - in desks, a new floor surface and new retail outlets including a larger duty - free area. The foundation stone of the present air terminal in Gudja was laid in September 1989 and it was inaugurated in record time 29 months later, in February 1992. Malta International Airport became fully operational on March 25, 1992, and the old Luqa passenger terminal was effectively closed down after 35 years. Over the last several years, passenger numbers have been increasing, climbing from 3.5 million in 2011 to 4.6 million in 2015. Passenger figures have exceeded 5.0 million in 2016. The increase in passenger numbers is mainly due to the increased number of routes served by low - cost carriers. Ryanair based one aircraft in Malta from May 2010, increasing to two in May 2012, to three in March 2016 and to four in March 2017. The biggest aircraft coming to Malta on a regular basis is the Boeing 777 - 300 of Emirates. Although because of the airport 's long runway, it is possible for the Airbus A380 to land but this does n't occur on a regular basis. One of these instances was when an Airbus A380 landed in 2012 of Lufthansa. Facilities Arrivals area Apron view of the main building Entrance to Observation Deck Malta International Airport air terminal operations include general passenger services, and the operation of an extensive range of retail services at the airport, airside and landside shops, restaurants and other outlets, which are all operated on concession agreements. The airport also leases office space to airlines and other travel related operators at the airport. Malta International Airport is a member of the ACI - EUROPE ( Airports Council International ) and a number of company officials sit on specialised committees and working groups within this council. Further facilities Malta International Airport has improved services for disabled and reduced mobility people to ensure an easier transit through the airport terminal to the aircraft and similarly on return. The head office of Medavia is on the airport property. Pilot training Within the grounds of Malta International Airport are situated several pilot training academies : European Pilot Academy Sky People Aviation Training Ltd Military Use The Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta is based at Malta International Airport. The Air Wing terminal consists of six hangars. The Air Wing operates a total of 8 fixed - wing aircraft and 6 helicopters as well as manning a pair of Italian Air Force helicopters used for search - and - rescue. Skyparks Business Centre Located within the grounds of Malta International Airport, the Business Centre is the first building in Malta to have applied for BREEAM ( BRE Environmental Assessment Method ) to become the island 's first Grade A office park. The head office of Air Malta is at Level 2 of the Skyparks Business Centre. Malta Airport MetOffice The Malta Airport MetOffice is part of the Malta International Airport and provides the function of a national meteorological service for Malta. Although they primarily serve aviation they also service the public sector. All equipment, other than the Doppler Weather Radar, is enhanced by automatic weather stations, of which eight are situated in Malta and Gozo. At the same time an aerodrome weather observation system is located at the airport. The MetOffice is able to get information from the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología in Madrid and the UK 's Met Office along with numerical weather models such as those provided by the European Centre for Medium - Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, England. Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Malta : Airlines Destinations Aegean Airlines Seasonal : Athens AirBaltic Seasonal : Riga Air France Seasonal : Toulouse Air Malta Amsterdam, Berlin - Tegel ( begins 31 October 2018 ), Brussels, Cagliari ( begins 6 May 2018 ), Casablanca, Catania, Comiso, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Kiev -- Boryspil ( begins 19 June 2018 ), Lisbon, London -- Gatwick, London -- Heathrow, London - Southend ( begins 4 May 2018 ), Málaga, Milan -- Linate, Moscow -- Sheremetyevo, Munich, Palermo, Paris -- Charles de Gaulle, Paris -- Orly, Rome -- Fiumicino, Saint Petersburg, Tel Aviv -- Ben Gurion, Venice, Vienna, Zürich Seasonal : Birmingham, Bristol, Lyon, Manchester ( resumes 1 May 2018 ), Marseille, Prague, Tunis Air Serbia Seasonal : Belgrade Alitalia Rome -- Fiumicino Atlantic Airways Seasonal : Vágar ( begins 19 June 2018 ) British Airways London -- Gatwick Condor Seasonal : Hamburg Czech Airlines Seasonal : Prague easyJet London -- Gatwick, London -- Southend, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne Seasonal : Milan -- Malpensa, Naples easyJet Switzerland Seasonal : Geneva Eurowings Berlin - Tegel Emirates Dubai -- International, Larnaca Finnair Seasonal : Helsinki Iberia Express Seasonal : Madrid Jet2.com Seasonal : Belfast -- International, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow -- International, Leeds / Bradford, London -- Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich Luxair Seasonal : Luxembourg Medavia Seasonal : Palermo Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal : Copenhagen, Madrid, Oslo -- Gardermoen Ryanair Athens, Bari, Beauvais, Belfast -- International, Bergamo, Berlin -- Schönefeld, Birmingham, Bologna, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Bristol, Budapest, Catania, Charleroi, Cologne / Bonn, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Gdańsk, Karlsruhe / Baden - Baden, Kraków, Leeds / Bradford, Liverpool, London -- Luton, London -- Stansted, Manchester, Madrid, Marseille, Naples, Nuremberg, Pescara, Pisa, Porto, Poznan, Prestwick, Riga, Seville, Stockholm -- Skavsta, Tallinn, Toulouse, Treviso, Turin, Valencia, Vilnius, Wrocław Seasonal : Aberdeen, Billund, Girona, Gothenburg, Rome -- Ciampino, Rome -- Fiumicino, Weeze Scandinavian Airlines Stockholm -- Arlanda Seasonal : Copenhagen Small Planet Airlines ( Germany ) Seasonal charter : Basel / Mulhouse ( begins 8 July 20108 ), Berlin -- Tegel ( begins 30 April 2018 ), Cologne / Bonn ( begins 6 May 2018 ), Dresden ( begins 6 May 2018 ), Hannover, Leipzig / Halle, Stuttgart Swiss International Air Lines Seasonal : Zürich Thomas Cook Airlines Seasonal : Bristol, London -- Gatwick, Manchester Transavia Seasonal : Amsterdam Transavia France Seasonal : Nantes, Paris -- Orly TUI Airways London -- Gatwick, Manchester Seasonal : Birmingham, Bristol Tunisair Express Tunis Turkish Airlines Istanbul -- Atatürk Volotea Seasonal : Bilbao, Bordeaux, Nice ( begins 26 April 2018 ) Vueling Barcelona Wizz Air Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj -- Napoca, Katowice, Skopje, Sofia, Vienna ( begins 14 June 2018 ), Warsaw -- Chopin Statistics Air Malta Airbus A319 at Malta International Airport British Airways Airbus A320 taking off from Malta to London - Gatwick Ryanair Boeing 737 - 800 at Malta International Airport Busiest routes Busiest International Routes out of Malta International Airport ( 2017 ) Rank Airport Passengers handled Airlines % Change ( vs 2016 ) London Gatwick Airport 379,000 Air Malta, British Airways, EasyJet, Thomas Cook Airlines, TUI Airways 9.7 Leonardo da Vinci - Fiumicino Airport 313,000 Air Malta, Alitalia, Ryanair 1.0 Frankfurt Airport 300,000 Air Malta, Lufthansa 11.0 Catania Airport 289,000 Air Malta, Ryanair 53.4 5 Brussels Airport 240,000 Air Malta, Ryanair 109.6 6 Munich Airport 215,000 Air Malta, Lufthansa, Niki 44.0 7 Manchester Airport 215,000 Air Malta, EasyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, TUI Airways 0.1 8 London Heathrow Airport 193,000 Air Malta 2.5 9 Istanbul Atatürk Airport 150,000 Turkish Airlines 12.8 10 Paris Orly Airport 126,000 Air Malta, Transavia France 0.9 Busiest airlines Top 10 Passenger Airlines out of Malta International Airport ( 2016 ) Rank Airline Passengers % Change ( vs 2015 ) Ryanair 1,731,881 41.30 Air Malta 1,600,408 7.47 EasyJet 279,266 15.75 Lufthansa 230,965 7.21 5 Wizz Air 177,420 17.33 6 Turkish Airlines 132,521 11.98 7 Alitalia 111,504 24.91 8 Emirates 88,329 3.45 9 British Airways 80,024 0.97 10 Vueling 73,131 8.28 Ground transportation Bus Malta International Airport is served also by several buses operated by private transportation groups and public transport operated by Malta Public Transport. Malta Public Transport buses serve the airport. A mixture of Express and local services are available. Car The airport is located 5 km ( 3.1 mi ) southwest of the capital, Valletta. Accidents and incidents On 5 January 1960, Vickers Viscount G - AMNY of British European Airways was damaged beyond economic repair at Luqa when it departed the runway after landing following a loss of hydraulic pressure. On 25 November 1973, Luqa Airport witnessed the landing of KLM Flight 861. The aircraft, named `` Mississippi '', was a Boeing 747 hijacked by three young Arabs over Iraqi airspace on a scheduled Amsterdam - Tokyo flight with 247 passengers on board, after the hijackers threatened to blow up the plane when no country would grant landing permission. Most of the passengers and the eight stewardesses were released after negotiations with the Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, who argued with the hijackers that the plane could not possibly take off with both the passengers and the 27,000 gallons of fuel they had demanded, given the ( then ) short runway. With 11 passengers on board the jumbo jet left Malta to Dubai, where the incident ended without fatalities. The hijack was claimed by the Arab Nationalist Youth Organization. On 23 November 1985, Luqa Airport was the scene of one of the deadliest aircraft hijackings in aviation history. EgyptAir Flight 648 was forced to land in Malta en -- route to Libya. Unit 777 of the Egyptian counter-terrorism forces was dispatched to deal with the incident. Storming of the Boeing 737, reluctantly authorised by Maltese officials after five hostages were shot, resulted in the death of over 60 passengers plus several security personnel, aircrew and members of the hijackers, the Abu Nidal Organization. Abdelbaset al - Megrahi was convicted for the Lockerbie bombing on the theory that he loaded a bomb onto Air Malta Flight KM180 Malta - Frankfurt at Luqa Airport which it is alleged found its way via the interline baggage system onto Pan Am Feeder Flight 103A Frankfurt - London and eventually onto Pan Am Flight 103 London - New York. MLA was the origin airport of the Air Malta Flight 830 Malta - Istanbul hijack which ended in Cologne. On 21 February 2011, two Libyan fighter pilots, both claiming to be colonels, defected and landed their Mirage F1 jets at the airport after refusing to carry out orders to fire upon a group of civilian Libyan protesters in Tripoli. On the same day two Eurocopter Super Puma helicopters registered in France also landed carrying seven French nationals who were under Italian contracts to work in Libya. On 24 October 2016, a CAE Aviation Fairchild Merlin twin turboprop crashed on take - off a short distance from the runway. All five people on board were killed. The aircraft was taking part in a French - led surveillance operation to counter people smuggling. On 23 December 2016 Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209, operated by an Airbus A320, was hijacked while en route from Sabha Airport to Tripoli International Airport in Libya, and diverted to Malta International. On 27 December 2017, a Dassault Falcon 7X ( VP - BZE ) which belonged to Michael Ashcroft careened off the apron while parked at the Malta International Airport, and it smashed into a fence and a road before crashing into an office building. The incident is believed to have occurred after the plane 's wheel chocks were blown away due to strong winds. No injuries were reported but the plane suffered extensive damage. Accolades This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view. ( November 2016 ) In 2010 Malta International Airport was awarded the title of `` Most Noteworthy Airport for a New Small Budget Programme '' by Passenger Terminal World, the international review of airport design, technology, security, operations and management. The airport is classified among the top 15 airports worldwide, joining Dubai, Brussels, San Francisco, Stockholm, Heathrow, Changi, Barcelona and Vienna, which were also awarded. The Passenger Terminal World Annual 2010 said `` When a new terminal can cost US $1.5 billion it is hard to think that many wonderful airports are being developed for a fraction of that sum, but Malta Airport is one such. With its current development programme it is a small airport with big plans -- improving the commercial offer, enlarging security and other essential services, and gaining plaudits from the country 's population. '' The company has picked up an international award for service quality : Best Airport in its category ( 1 - 5 million passengers ) at the ACI Europe Awards and the Best Airport in Europe across all categories in the ACI Airport Service Quality ( ASQ Survey ). In addition it also won Best Airport in its category ( 1 - 5 million passengers ) at the ACI Europe Awards and the Best Airport in Europe across all categories in the ACI Airport Service Quality ( ASQ Survey ). References ^ Jump up to : `` Annual Report & Financial Statements 2017 '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 7 March 2018. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2014 - 08 - 23. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Tunisia tourists diverted to Malta -- MIA registers record ''. Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2015 - 06 - 01. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 03. ^ Jump up to : `` Corporate - Malta International Airport '' ( PDF ). Miamin.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 21 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` We 're now almost Malta 's national airline -- Ryanair ''. Timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2016 - 03 - 04. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Contact Us Archived 2012 - 07 - 29 at the Wayback Machine... '' Medavia. Retrieved on April 23, 2013. `` P.O. Box 48, Malta International Airport Luqa LQA 4000 '' Jump up ^ `` Contact Us. '' Air Malta. Retrieved on 23 April 2013. `` Air Malta plc Level 2, Skyparks Business Centre Malta International Airport Luqa, Malta. LQA 9020 '' Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 07 - 19. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2015 - 04 - 16. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 07 - 10. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 03. Jump up ^ maltaairport.com - Flight Timetable retrieved 1 November 2016 Jump up ^ https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/277618/airmalta-resumes-berlin-service-in-w18/ ^ Jump up to : https://worldairlinenews.com/2018/02/19/air-malta-announces-new-routes-from-southend/ Jump up ^ https://worldairlinenews.com/2018/03/31/air-malta-to-add-a-new-route-to-kiev/ Jump up ^ airmalta resumes Manchester service from May 2018 Routesonline. 24 August 2017. Jump up ^ Atlantic Airways adds Malta seasonal flights in S18 Routesonline. 12 October 2017. Jump up ^ https://www.smallplanet.aero/en/flight-schedule/1398 Jump up ^ `` WIZZ AIR ANNOUNCES AUSTRIAN BASE IN VIENNA WITH 3 BASED AIRCRAFT AND 17 NEW LOW - FARE ROUTES ''. wizzair.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2011 - 06 - 04. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Accident description ''. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 14 September 2009. Jump up ^ `` Dutch KLM Boeing 747 ''. Buettni-malta.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` 1985 : Commandoes storm hijacked plane ''. BBC. 24 November 1985. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta ''. Reuters. 21 February 2011. Jump up ^ `` Libyan plane carried pilots to fly Mirages back -- PM ''. Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` French citizens killed in surveillance plane crash on Malta ''. BBC News. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016. Jump up ^ Dearden, Lizzie ( 24 October 2016 ). `` Malta plane crash latest : French customs officials killed during take - off for people smuggling mission in Libya ''. The Independent. Retrieved 24 October 2016. Jump up ^ Vella, Matthew ( 27 December 2017 ). `` Private jet of Tory peer Lord Ashcroft ' taxies ' off Malta runway into Polidano offices ''. Malta Today. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Jump up ^ Grech, Herman ( 27 December 2017 ). `` Aircraft blown off apron, smashes into building ''. Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` MIA listed among top 15 airports ''. Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2015 - 04 - 16. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 03. ^ Jump up to : `` ASQ Awards ''. Airportserviesqualityawards.com. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` ASQ Award for Best Airport in Europe '' Airports Council International. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 2012 - 04 - 13 External links Media related to Malta International Airport at Wikimedia Commons Official website Current weather for LMML at NOAA / NWS Accident history for MLA at Aviation Safety Network Airport webcams, flight timetables and pilot data Malta portal Aviation portal Airports in Malta Malta International Airport Xewkija Heliport Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malta_International_Airport&oldid=834234412 '' Categories : Airports in Malta Luqa Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from February 2013 All articles needing additional references Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing Maltese - language text All articles with vague or ambiguous time Vague or ambiguous time from September 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 Vague or ambiguous time from October 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2018 Articles with a promotional tone from November 2016 All articles with a promotional tone Wikipedia articles needing clarification from February 2012 Vague or ambiguous time from February 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Cebuano Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Lietuvių Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 19 more Edit links This page was last edited on 4 April 2018, at 16 : 49. 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Question: what is the name of malta's airport
Answer: Malta International Airport