Following an agreement signed on Thursday, the Malta Tourism Authority confirmed yesterday that Spanish low-cost carrier Clickair will begin serving the Malta route in June on a twice-weekly basis.

In a statement issued yesterday evening, the MTA said the agreement, signed by MTA chairman Sam Mifsud and Clickair CEO Alex Cruz, had been finalised in collaboration with Malta International Airport and effectively confirms that the airline will be commencing operations between Malta and Barcelona as from the first week of June.

A month ago, this newspaper revealed that the low-cost carrier – which is part-owned by Iberia Líneas Aéreas airlines – was expected to begin operations at the beginning of the summer, but that the authorities were still negotiating with Clickair regarding the frequency of flights to the island.

Sources had told this newspaper that the low-cost carrier was interested in flying to Malta once a week, but the authorities had been trying to increase this frequency slightly for Clickair to begin serving the Malta route. Clickair will be the fourth low-cost carrier serving the Malta route and the first to open the low-cost link between Malta and Spain, operating between MIA and El Prat airport in Barcelona.

Currently, Italian carrier Meridiana operates between Malta and Bologna, Irish

carrier Ryanair serves the Malta route to and from London Luton, Pisa and Dublin, and Germany’s major low-cost carrier Germanwings began operating to and from Cologne and Stuttgart last month.