On Monday, Steven Dutton, Corporate Strategist & Brand Manager at Medavia said, “we are here representing Malta’s airline Medavia, and we provide multiple services to the aviation industry. We have a headquarters in Malta and a branch also in Libya, specifically in the city of Misrata.
“We have ground handling services in Libya and Malta. We also do design engineering, and we also have additional services with our partners including maintenance of other types of crafts. We have a lot of partners, and we can provide our services to other clients,” Dutton added.
With regard to the return of Maltese aviation, Dutton explained that “it is difficult at the present time, but we are looking for the possibility of starting direct air operations between Tripoli and Valletta, but we do not have any dates for return so far.”
In September, Maltese Ambassador to Libya, Charles Saliba expressed his aspiration for the return of air travel with Libya. This came during a meeting with the Minister of Communications in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohamed Al-Shoubi in Tripoli.
The meeting included a discussion of the obstacles facing the granting of landing and take-off permits for the Maltese aviation company, Medavia which expressed its desire to resume its flight service.
They also reviewed the memoranda of understanding signed in the field of transportation. As well as discussing the difficulties they face, and the possibilities of overcoming them.
Notably, Malta’s Embassy in Libya announced that it will start accepting visa applications in the city of Benghazi on 24 July. This was confirmed by Saliba, who stressed that applications will be processed by VFS Global, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In April, the Maltese Consulate began accepting visa applications through VFS Global in Tripoli. In addition, authorities in Malta also announced that the country opened its Consulate in Tripoli. They also confirmed that besides tourism visas, medical, business, as well as education visas are also eligible.
Saliba stressed that the country would support Libya under the current circumstances. “This was only possible by collective effort with the Consul of Malta, Mr. Sandro Magro, and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs,” the Ambassador said.