Here’s What The Malta Air Charter Helicopter Linking To Gozo Looked Like

Remember when helicopters were a familiar sight in Gozo? This photograph by Achilles Attard captures a Malta Air Charter helicopter, part of a service that connected the two islands in just minutes.

On 27 June 1990, Malta Air Charter, a subsidiary of Air Malta, launched scheduled helicopter flights between Malta International Airport and the Gozo Heliport in Xewkija. The service used Soviet-built Mil Mi-8 helicopters, each capable of carrying 26 passengers, with journeys taking approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

The service, also associated with the name Gozo Wings during the 1990s, carried between 30,000 and 40,000 passengers annually, reaching a peak of around 64,000 in 1994.

However, after more than a decade of operations, Malta Air Charter ceased operating on 31 October 2004, amid declining passenger numbers and changes in aviation requirements.

Today, the photograph offers a glimpse into a distinctive chapter of Malta and Gozo’s transport history.

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Source: Achilles Attard, Gozo Album