Malta Airport has called on the government to introduce digital validation of health documents carried by passengers travelling to Malta.

"The current manual process is rather lengthy and leading to operational challenges on the ground as well as pressure on our airport’s facilities," a spokesperson said.

In terms of the law, all travellers coming to Malta need to carry a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative test before their board a plane to Malta. But the doctors' association said on Monday that five per cent of travellers arriving in Malta in the first days of this month had to be tested upon arrival.

In a statement on Tuesday, Malta International Airport thanked the authorities for establishing the necessary safeguards for the restart of tourism.

It said, however, that the use of technology for the verification of passengers’ health documents would allow for quicker access to passenger data should contact tracing be required as well as contribute to a more seamless guest experience on arrival in Malta.

Airports Council International last week warned that European airports could face chaos and pressure this summer, with lengthy manual document verification processes being identified as one of the factors that could lead to this.