A flight booking system for Malta’s new national airline will launch on Monday, three days after it was meant to launch.

The IT system was originally meant to launch on Friday, December 1 but will now open for bookings on Monday, December 4. 

The new launch date was announced in a statement by KM Malta Airlines, the newly-formed company that will serve as Malta's national carrier come April 1, 2024. 

KM Malta Airlines will operate flights as Air Malta. 

The existing national carrier will fly its final flight on March 31, with the new airline taking to the skies as of the following day. 

When the replacement airline was announced at the beginning of October, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that flights with the new airline would go on sale on December 1. 

However, people trying to book flights with the airline from April and beyond were left disappointed on Friday, with Air Malta's online booking system showing no available flights beyond the end of March. 

One reader told Times of Malta that the lack of clarity on how to book flights with the new airline was disrupting their travel plans. 

"Where is the new booking system? Air Malta stops flying the day before Easter Sunday. We can’t make travel plans, what a great way to complicate Easter family gatherings," they said. 

Attempting to book a flight to Rome in April yielded no results.

Summer flight schedule

In a statement issued on Friday, KM Malta Airlines said that it had launched its Summer 2024 schedule and will be open for bookings on Monday, December 4.  The delay was not explained in this statement. 

The airline said that it 'intends' to fly to 17 airports in 15 cities and operate 284 flights a week. 

Times of Malta has sent questions to Air Malta and KM Malta Airlines.