Mario Caruana Photography

Mario Caruana

Chris Bell 412EP A7-HBC: Gulf Helicopters have this Bell 412-EP based at Malta International Airport. The Qatari company has set up a subsidiary on the island with other partners, known as Gulfmed Aviation Services. Malta has proven to be an ideal platform to service oil rigs, especially in Libyan waters as the situation in the Maghreb country remains unstable.

A340 Lufthansa – The Airbus A340 is slowly becoming an extinct species as the four-engine gas guzzler gets retired by mainstream airlines. The A340 does not operate on the Malta route, but they often visit for maintenance at Lufthansa Technik Malta, which has built an enviable reputation over the years.

Piaggio P180 D-IZZY : The dizziest aircraft to visit LMML was probably this Piaggio P180 of AirGO Flugservice GmbH aptly registered D-IZZY. the aircraft carried the previous registrations I-RAIH and N680JP. Piaggio Aero Industries has been going through a tough time. Up to early August the administrator had trimmed the bidders for the beleaguered company from 19 to 11.

Cessna 550B Citation (YU-SEX): As many aviation analysts would tell you, the North African and the Mediterranean markets are ideal for the Cessna Citation. YU-SEX forms part of Belgrade based operator AirPink is an affiliate of Pink International Company. The latter is a Serbian media powerhouse that owns Pink TV and Radio Pink among others.

A319 Just Us Air – Just Us Air is a Romania charter carrier that operates a sole Airbus A319-100. The aircraft registered YR-URS  is a 12-year old example in a 144 all-economy configuration. The aircraft had previously operated for Air Astana when delivered as P4-YAS to the Kazakh carrier in 2008. Photographer: Mario Caruana