Air Malta and Qatar Airways have signed a codeshare agreement which will help the Maltese airline expand its network and extend its connectivity with Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia by enabling Air Malta’s passengers to travel on Qatar Airways’ flights between Malta, Doha and onward to more than 60 destinations.

Sales will start from Wednesday with the first codeshare flights to operate from March 9. 

Air Malta will place its code and flight numbers on several of these Qatar flights thereby allowing the Maltese Airline to participate in these markets not only to and from Malta but also connecting to and from other destinations that it serves.

Qatar Airways’ passengers will also benefit from greater access to Malta and to Air Malta’s extensive Mediterranean network.

Codeshare destinations include Cagliari, Palermo and Catania.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: “When we launched services to Malta in June 2019, I stated this was just the beginning of our long term commitment to boosting trade and tourism between our two countries. This agreement with Air Malta will provide significant benefits to both airlines and thousands of passengers, expanding both of our networks and setting the foundation to further enhance cooperation in other fields in the future.”

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri (centre) with Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion (left) and CEO Cliff Chetcuti

Air Malta Chief Executive Cliff Chetcuti, said: “This agreement is yet another milestone for Air Malta in its growth strategy and widening of its codesharing network. It was a natural step for us after Qatar Airways launched direct scheduled services to our Islands and the successful cooperation on pilot training. Both Air Malta and Qatar Airways share the same quality service commitment towards their customers and through this codeshare agreement we are enhancing our cooperation to the benefit of our mutual customers.”

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said: “This agreement pushes forward Air Malta to set presence in the eastern market. This is an important step in Air Malta’s stance to continue enhancing its connectivity both on an international level. In fact, through this agreement, Air Malta will be able to offer flights to Australia through just one stop in Doha. I look forward to seeing this partnership grow in the benefit of both airlines involved as well as a means to better the customers' experience when using our national airline. This is yet another initiative complimenting Air Malta’s strategy to generate new streams of revenue.”

Qatar Airways began flying to Malta on 4 June 2019 with daily flights in the summer and a four-times-weekly service during winter.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), to more than 160 destinations worldwide.

The world’s fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2020, including Osaka, Japan; Santorini, Greece; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Almaty and Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan; Accra, Ghana; Cebu, Philippines; Trabzon, Turkey; Lyon, France; Siem Reap, Cambodia; and Luanda, Angola.