Music festival is first casualty of rising flight costs
Organisers cancel second edition of popular music festival
High airline costs have forced organisers of a popular UK festival to cancel its Malta edition, which was slated for September.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, the organisers said everything was in place for the second edition of the festival, but higher airline prices forced them to cancel the show.
“As you will no doubt have seen in the news, the airline industry is expecting disruption this summer and so we have been in contact with airlines connected to Malta to understand the likely impact,” organisers said.
“We have been advised that fewer flights will be scheduled and that prices will likely go up. This leaves us in a very different position to when we first launched the event.”
The organisers thanked their partners on the island and airline carriers, who “have given us valuable insight into the future, so we could make this informed decision sooner rather than later”.
The first edition of Mighty Hoopla was held in September 2025, with performances from Melanie C, Trixie Mattel and Bimini.
A set of performances was already announced for the second edition, including Sugababes as the festival headliner.
Jet fuel prices have soared due to the conflict in the Middle East, forcing airlines to increase prices and cut flights altogether.
Airlines have also been bracing themselves for a chaotic summer period, partly due to a new EU border system that is creating massive queues at the airport.
In April, the CEO of Ryanair’s Malta subsidiary Malta Air told Times of Malta that the airline could redirect capacity from Malta if border check delays persist.