Budget airline Wizz Air is setting up Wizz Air Malta, a new airline that will be based in Malta.

It hopes to begin operations in October with Malta-registered aircraft, the Hungarian-based company said.

Wizz Air serves many cities across Europe as well as destinations in North Africa and the Middle East. It recently started a service to Sri Lanka. 

Announcing the airline on Tuesday, Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia said this was yet another indication that Malta "is truly the preferred jurisdiction in the aviation industry".

He said the airline was set up following months of talks between the Civil Aviation Directorate within Transport Malta, Wizz Air, and the European Aviation Safety Agency.

The airline, Farrugia said, would register "a substantial amount of aircraft" in Malta. He did not elaborate on that. 

Wizz Air is following the model of Ryanair, which also set up a subsidiary airline in Malta - Malta Air - and registered a number of aircraft on the Maltese register.