The concept of Cruise & Fly was introduced in April 2017. Over a period of six months, around 100.000 passengers were carried at Malta International Airport in this first year.
Thursday was dedicated to P&O Cruises, during which the cruise ship Oceana moored at the Valletta cruise port. Sunday was the German day with a flood of TUI planes that frantically flew into the LMML and brought passengers on board the flagship Mein Schiff from Tui Cruises.
The synergy between Malta International Airport and Valletta Cruise Port had resulted in a seamless service that was highly valued by passengers. However, the pandemic brought the Cruise & Fly concept to a complete standstill in early 2020 when demand dried up and the tourism industry came under pressure.
The service, now renamed Fly & Cruise, returns in July after an almost 15 month hiatus. Viking Cruises has two of its cruise lines stationed in Grand Harbor. These are the Viking Sea and the Viking Venus. It appears that Lufthansa will be operating charter flights on the A350-900 from Newark to bring vaccinated American tourists to the island. They stay in the bubble and then go on their Mediterranean cruise. During a press conference, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced that the new flight and cruise operation, together with Viking Cruises, would fly 150.000 passengers through Malta International Airport. Interestingly, the cruise ships also stop in Gozo before continuing on to Croatia, Greece and Italy.
Lufthansa appears to be using its excess long haul capacity to service this niche market as the fall in transatlantic travel is unlikely to return until late 2023 or early 2024.
This article was written by:
Chris Cauchi / MAviO News
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