Malta International Airport’s second, new airline kick started its scheduled operations to and from Malta yesterday, with its first, scheduled flight from Hamburg. An Airbus A320 bearing Condor’s yellow and grey livery was welcomed at the airport with the traditional water salute yesterday evening.

Besides operating biweekly flights on the Hamburg route, Condor will also be strengthening MIA’s connection with Frankfurt Airport with flights until October. This hub serves as Condor’s main base and is the point of departure of many of the leisure airline’s long-haul flights to a good number of destinations in Africa and the Americas.

“Today’s launch is another vote of confidence in both our airport and the Maltese islands, which heartens us to persist in our joint efforts with the Government and the Malta Tourism Authority to continue widening our network of airlines and destinations. While we’re currently connected to 30 countries, our aim remains that of offering more choice to locals and enabling tourists from new markets to discover Malta,” said Malta International Airport CEO, Alan Borg.

Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zammit Lewis said: “Through Condor’s new schedule, we will be increasing seat capacity from the important hubs that are Hamburg and Frankfurt, whilst also consolidating and extending the German market share of tourism. The Government is committed to continue working towards further growth in the tourism sector, within a strategic context of sustainability, diversification, and expansion of non-traditional markets.”

“This service adds another route connecting Malta to the important German market, which has been showing strong growth following the expansion of connectivity to our islands from a number of German airports. Moreover, the Hamburg area is a very important source market for Malta,” said MTA CEO Paul Bugeja, whilst auguring Condor the best of success for its new, scheduled operations.

Condor has been in operation since 1956 and is part of the Thomas Cook Group, one of the most well-known names in the travel industry. Operating a fleet of more than 40 aircraft, the airline flies around 7 million passengers annually to some 75 destinations.