Malta (2021)

Malta 2021

The very first 4Aviation tour in 2021 took place in September. A visit to the Malta International Airshow was the first tour since the Corona-pandemic halted all our activities in March 2020.

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23 September 2021

Thursday 23 September 2021 was the start of our very first tour of 2021. Due to the Corona-pandemic all our activities had suddenly come to a halt in March 2020. So, it was great to see a group of aviation photographers again at Schiphol airport at the beginning of the tour. Air Malta took twelve of us to Malta International Airport, where a major part of the Malta International Airshow 2021 would also take place. On arrival, two more participants were waiting that had arrived from the UK earlier that day.

The arrival at Malta didn’t go as planned for one of the participants. He was denied entry to Malta because of a vaccination-issue. Despite being able to present the EU Digital COVID Certificate, the Maltese authorities refused him. The only real option for him was to spend a night in a government appointed hotel and fly home the next day, while the rest of the group headed for the hotel.

24 September 2021

Friday morning 24 September the mini-coach arrived fashionably late (it was a sign of things to come, but that didn’t lead to us missing anything). On this “first day of operations” we would be spending our time at Malta International Airport capturing the arrivals of aircraft and the rehearsals that were going to be flown. All on the group had opted for a Gold Spotters Ticket that was offered by the organisers of the event (the Malta Aviation Society). After collecting our badges we went to the designated area for the day.

While entering the area it soon became clear that many things had changed since our last visit in 2015. Two large hangars were being built on the platform that used to be available for the event, halving the area. This meant that only a limited number of participants could park for the static display and that the solo displays were parked somewhere else.

During the day we were able to capture a number of interesting participants for the show. An Italian AMX is rare these days and a two-seater even more. Italy was responsible for more contributions to the static display. Several of their choppers arrived, from various services that you don´t get to see very often. Later in the afternoon the final two aircraft arrived, the German “Retrobummel” Transall and a Polish Navy M-28.

The evening was spent in a restaurant in Saint Paul’s Bay that served great food and drinks. A very relaxing end to the day.

25 September 2021

On Saturday (25 September) we were not really in a hurry. The plan for the day was to spend some time at the static display at the airport before heading to Qawra Point in the afternoon, where the flying display was scheduled to take place.

Due to the Corona-measures that were in place, the visit to the static display wasn’t very easy, nor really pleasant. As this was a public day, there were larger number of visitors and they were asked to move along the static in groups. Everybody was supposed to stay with their group as the group moved from one aircraft to the other. Not what we are used to, but we all know that the whole world struggles to live with Covid and its consequences. It was a bit frustrating, both for us and the organisers.

Around noon the mini-coach took us to Qawra Point. When we arrived there, there were still plenty of options to pick a spot. The air show itself was set to start at 15.00 and would be flown over the sea near Qawra Point. The show started with an Alouette 3 of the Armed Forces of Malta display the Maltese flag. What followed were a rescue demo by a Beech B200 and AW139, several solo displays and performances by the Swiss PC-7 team and the Red Arrows. As time progresses, the sun slowly moved to an unfavourable position.

After the air show had ended we waited for our ride back to the airport for the night shoot. With many people showing up for the air show, all driving their own car, it took some time before the mini-coach arrived. Despite this, we ended up at the airport not too late to join the rest for the night shoot of the static display.

26 September 2021

The Sunday (26 September) started even more relaxed than the Saturday. We decided not to return to the static display, but to pay a visit to the Malta Aviation Museum in the morning. From the museum the majority of the group went to Qawra Point again. Some opted to skip the air show in the afternoon to enjoy the country and some off time.

The air show was largely comparable to Saturday (although the Swiss F/A-18 Hornet was now participating as well) but a different position and different mindset gave different shots. The weather was as good as it was on Saturday (sunny and warm).

On Sunday it was even busier than on Saturday, so after the air show ended we didn’t wait too long for our ride to make its way through the traffic, but decided to walk to our hotel. After freshening up, we walked to a restaurant for our final diner of the tour. At the end we said goodbye to our friends from the UK, that would stay in Malta for one more day.

27 September 2021

Monday 27 September was the day of our return. That meant an early start of the day, since our Air Malta flight was scheduled for departure at 07.35. It was an uneventful flight, ending up at Schiphol in time.

At Schiphol the group said goodbye. The general consensus was that the event may have become too small and the opportunities too limited to be interesting enough for another visit. We will stay in touch with the organisers about future editions and what they will look like. Based on that, we will decide whether or not to return to Malta. Despite this, the atmosphere in the group was good though!

Malta 2021

Malta 2021

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Malta (2021)

Malta 2021

Malta 2021

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