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The Malta Aviation Society (MAS) will not be organising the Malta International Airshow this year.
The Society has written to the Minister of Tourism
a few hours after the end of last year’s airshow
asking for guidance and commitment to future editions of this successful international event.
Notwithstanding a clear explanation of why such guidance and commitment was required urgently,
coupled with another email sent to the same Minister a few days ago,
there has been absolutely no reply from the Ministry.
This leaves the Malta Aviation Society with no option but to abandon any preparations for the event to take place this year.
The Malta Aviation Society hopes there will be future editions of the Malta International Airshow
and is always prepared to offer its totally-voluntary work towards this event subject
to a commitment by the Government to financially sustain the airshow after the agreed move to a seaside show.
The move was triggered by the authorities to which the Society agreed,
subject to financial compensation due to loss of income from gate money that the airshow used to generate when it was held at the airport.
While the Malta Aviation Society is aware of major works at the airport,
it is saddening to note that after 25 years
of successfully delivering a world-class aviation event hailed by many both locally and overseas,
it did not even qualify for an acknowledgement,
reply or call for discussions
from the Ministry responsible for both aviation as well as tourism,
to which the Malta International Airshow surely contributed
during the shoulder month of September over the past quarter century.
The Malta Aviation Society thanks the Maltese public,
foreign visitors,
Government agencies,
the numerous countries and participants and their respective Embassies,
sponsors and everyone who helped all through these last 25 years to make the Malta International Airshow a success.
Each airshow requires preparations to start much more than eight months prior
to the arrival of the first aircraft at Luqa and with time remaining it is not possible to organise the event in a successful manner.
MAS hopes for the right conditions to be able to organise another edition of the Malta International Airshow in 2019.