Some of the introduced flights are expected to be seasonal, while the ones from Scandinavia and the UK may be offered all year round as people living in these countries would
want to spend some days in a warmer climate.Ryanair also announced a one million seat sale with tickets available from €9.99 if booked before midnight tomorrow.This is Ryanair’s sixth consecutive year of growth in Malta which is also contributing to continued and sustained growth in tourism, according to Michael Cawley, Ryanair’s Deputy CEO, who came to Malta early yesterday afternoon, after a meeting in Cyprus. An agreement to make Paphos the newest base for Ryanair was signed.Mr Cawley highlighted that Ryanair’s key to success is that it offers the cheapest flights in Europe and guarantees no fuel surcharges.The newly-announced flights will increase Ryanair’s Malta traffic to over one million passengers and increase the routes serving Malta to 28. According to statistics, Ryanair estimates that people taking its flights leave 50% more revenue on the island than people booking packaged holidays, who tend to spend more on flights.Ryanair now operates 1,300 routes and will be the number one European traffic carrier reaching 75 million passengers this year.Asked whether the airline plans to extend its Malta base, Mr Cawley said this was a possibility but did not want to comment further. The newly launched flights definitely mean more traffic for Malta but Ryanair has other bases close to Malta so the matter is secondary, he added.
