Malta aviation: Air Malta, Ryanair and now Malta Air

On 11-Jun-2019 Ryanair announced an agreement to buy the start-up airline Malta Air and use it to operate its low cost operations in Malta. Ryanair has already transferred its six Malta-based Boeing 737-800s to its new subsidiary's AOC, although they will not be branded under Malta Air until summer 2020.

The deal was done with the support and cooperation of the Maltese government, which wanted to solidify Ryanair's ties to the country.

This has caused some to question the future of the flag carrier Air Malta, which is owned by the Maltese state. Although the legacy airline reported a profit for the year to Mar-2018, it had struggled with profitability over the past decade, in no small part due to competition from Ryanair.

The Maltese government has said that there is room for both airlines, operating different business models and networks.