Air Malta's Airbus A320-214 9H-AEQ made its name in history on July 1, 2021 by being the first KM aircraft to land on Libyan soil since 2014.

The aircraft was under the command of Captain Antoine Fava, an experienced aviator for the Maltese nationals airline who rose through the ranks and is now a TRI / TRE in the Airbus narrowbody family. A high-ranking delegation took part in the flight to Mitiga Airport, including the Minister of Finance and Labor, Clyde Caruana, and Air Malta Executive Chairman, David G. Curmi.

One of the main issues discussed between the two colleagues during the one-day fleeting visit was the re-establishment of air links between the two countries. MaviO News has been reliably informed that, for safety reasons, the aircraft returned to Malta after the 40-minute hop after the well-planned flight and that the delegation was picked up by the same 9H-AEQ later that afternoon.

Air Malta Executive Chairman David G. Curmi stressed the importance of opening up flight connections between the two countries and stressed that the Libyan market has always been very important to the Maltese national airline. Until 2014, Air Malta operated flights to both Tripoli International Airport and Benghazi. These came to an abrupt end when civil unrest broke out in the Maghreb country after the collapse of the Ghaddafi regime.

This article was written by: Chris Cauchi