“No benefit”; Adrian Delia laments traffic situation driving down from Ċirkewwa

Oct 13 2022

Nationalist MP Adrian Delia has once again gone online to lament Malta’s current traffic situation, this time with regards to commuters driving down from Ċirkewwa.

The former PN leader posted a photo shining a light on the roadside situation in one of Malta’s northernmost villages, with many taking to the comments to express their agreement with the MP’s sentiment.

This is not the first time that Malta has experienced a standstill traffic situation, with major delays and standstills in a number of Maltese villages being reported over the past few weeks.

Such a situation continues to accentuate the importance of exploring alternative means of transport such as public transport or bicycles and scooters, with the former being made completely free for everyone in the beginning of October. Just recently, a motorcyclist posted a video of him travelling from Paola to St. Julian’s in just 15 minutes, highlighting the efficacy of such means of transport.

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Greece runs entirely on renewable energy for the first time ever

Oct 13 2022

For at least five hours last Friday, the entire country of Greece ran entirely on energy generated from renewable sources, setting an encouraging precedent for what my lie ahead for the Earth.

The country’s independent power transmission operator IPTO released this information as the country continues its efforts to ramp up the use of renewable energy sources. This was the first time in Greece’s history that the country ran completely on such resources, only a few months after the European country halted its reliance on Russian gas supplies.

It was revealed that solar, wind and hydro energy accounted for 46% of the country’s power from January to August of this year, up by 4 points from the previous year.

Environmental think-tank The Green Tank called it a “record of optimism for the country’s transition to clean energy”, and will hopefully be something we see more of in Europe and beyond over the next few months.

Back in March, Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that Gozo will lead Malta’s energy dependence on renewable energy, revealing that it will be the first in Malta to get all its energy from renewable resources.

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Photo Source: Energy Transition

WATCH: MrBeast reacts to Maltese viral clip of pigeon shot by cannon

Oct 13 2022

It’s not everyday that Malta makes an appearance in a trending YouTube video with millions of views, but when it does… it’s on a MrBeast video.

That’s right, our tiny Mediterranean island has made a subtle cameo on arguably the greatest YouTuber of all time’s second channel Beast Reacts by way of, you guessed it, a pigeon video.

In a video which has gained over 4.3 million views so far, Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson and his friend Chris react to a compilation of ‘Impossible 0.00001% Odds’ moments. The Maltese moment shows a pigeon getting in the way of a guard’s saluting battery fire at the Upper Barrakka Gardens.

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Peak tourism season closes with 650,000 passengers in September

Oct 12 2022

The peak summer season (June-September) ended with 2.66 million passengers, of which 658,569 traveled through Malta International Airport in September. At 86.4 per cent, September’s recovery of pre-pandemic traffic was similar to the recovery rates posted in July (86.3 per cent) and August (86.5 per cent).

In September, 89.5 per cent of the seats available on the flights operated to and from Malta were occupied, marking an increase of 3.3 per cent over the same month in 2019.

Almost no changes from the previous three peak months were observed in relation to the top drivers of traffic, with the Italian market registering an increase of 13.1 per cent in passenger numbers over September 2019 and remaining top of the leaderboard for the seventh consecutive month. Italy was followed by the United Kingdom, which generated 33 per cent less traffic than it had in 2019.

While Germany ranked third again for the first time in six months, the number of passengers travelling to and from this market remained 34.7 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, the French market dropped to fourth place, despite registering an increase of 29.5 per cent over pre-pandemic traffic. Spain, which ranked fifth, continued to recover at a slow pace, with passenger traffic to and from this market remaining 18.3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

Malta International Airport is now easing into the new season, having launched its winter 22/23 flight schedule earlier this week. This schedule offers around 80 per cent of pre-pandemic connectivity together with several new developments which are expected to support the airport in surpassing its forecast 5.4 million passengers by the end of the year, despite a number of economic factors that may have an impact on the demand for air travel.

One of the highlights of this schedule is the return of flag carrier Air Serbia with a biweekly flight, constituting a much-welcome decision, given Malta International Airport’s efforts to maintain a healthy mix of airlines operating to and from Malta. The schedule also features up to 14 weekly flights to Istanbul, up from seven weekly flights operated during the winter 21/22 season.

The Maltese Islands will be connected to Sweden once again through a biweekly flight to Stockholm, following the suspension of this route, which had been operated by Scandinavian Airlines, in 2021. This development falls in line with Malta International Airport’s endeavours to better tap into the potential presented by the Scandinavian market, which is currently accessible from Malta through flights to Sweden and Denmark.

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