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Malta International Airport plc was registered as a company on the 16th May 1991 (registration number C 12663) and commenced operations on 1st January 1992. Initially, MIA managed and operated the air terminal but was later entrusted with the responsibility of the entire airport. Before 1992 these activities had been undertaken by the Government's Air Terminal Department since the 1st January 1989, and before that by the Government's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).
On 1st May 1998, in addition to the operation of the air terminal activities, MIA also tookover the operation and management of the airfield facilities as well as the air traffic control of Malta's Flight Information Region (FIR). The airfield services were previously the responsibility of the DCA, that has since then retained a purely regulatory role. In the process of taking over such operations MIA had also taken over from the DCA all personnel previously deployed in running such activities. Air Traffic Control was again seperated from the MIA central structure in 2001. It is now an autonomous, government entity known as Malta Air Traffic Services.
The transfer of the operation of the airfield services from the DCA to MIA consolidated the operation and management of all airport facilities of Malta's only licensed airport and consequently crystallized the line of demarcation between the regulatory functions which are the administrative responsibility of the Director of Civil Aviation and the operational responsibilities for the Airport which are now entirely vested in MIA.
In July 2002, the Government of Malta signed an agreement with the Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium Ltd (MML) for the sale of 40% of Malta International Airport plc. The deal was worth Lm 40 million (€93.16 million). MML is owned by Flughafen Wien AG (57%), SNC-Lavalin Inc. (39%) and Airport Investments Ltd, which is an associate company of the Maltese Bianchi Group of Companies.
The Government of Malta sold a further 20% of its shares in MIA by means of an Initial Public Offering in November 2002 and another 20% in November 2005.
In 2008, Malta International Airport handled 3.11million passengers (+4.7% over 2007) on scheduled and non-scheduled flights, 30,261aircraft movements and 18,262 tonnes of cargo and mail. Tourism indeed remains the most significant factor. It is therefore inevitable that a shift in the number of tourist arrivals has an immediate and direct impact on MIA's performance. For the Financial Year ended 31 December 2007 MIA's turnover was of Lm 19.04 million (€44.35 million) resulting in an EBITDA of Lm 8.72 (€20.31 million) and the EBITDA margin standing at 45.8%.
MIA's core 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. MIA also leases office space to airlines and other travel related operators at the airport.
Malta International Airport is a member of the ACI-EUROPE (Airport Council International - Europe) and a number of company officials sit on specialised committees and working groups within this council. |
