Tourism Minister bans sun-beds on Blue Lagoon sandy beach and limits them to quay

Jun 14 2022

Following a demonstration by Moviment Graffiti in which the NGO removed deckchairs from Comino’s sandy beach, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo came out and banned them outright from the area.

Bartolo revealed that they will be limited to the quay area but in reduced amounts. This would see the scenario change drastically on Comino, away from the clutter of noise and crowds which were posing a problem year after year.

Questioned on his way to parliament, the minister said that matters at Blue Lagoon already improved. He said that the sandy area will be totally accessible to people as sun-beds will no longer be allowed there.

‘This way, we can assure that people can lay out their towels and stay there if they want to, but at the same time, the substantial number of visitors who ask to rent sun-beds will be catered for’ he explained to journalists.

The minister also revealed that capping the number of visitors is being considered as part of a long-term management plan for Comino. He went on to add that Graffiti activists were on the island the same day that MTA officials were going to be there to make sure issue is addressed.

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Photo Source: Moviment Graffiti

Disney+ is officially in Malta and we’re ready to binge!

Jun 14 2022

Online streaming platform Disney+ has officially arrived in Malta and we’re ready to binge a whole lot of new series!

Disney confirmed plans to roll out their platform in 42 new countries back in January of this year, with Malta making the list. No date was revealed but it seems as though the date has finally arrived.

Malta is now in line with other European countries such as Germany, Italy and the UK, whose citizens had access to Disney+ since 2020.

A basic subscription for the platform costs €8.99 per month or €89.90 per year, and given Netflix’s current drop in subscribers, the Maltese might also now pose a bit of a problem for the streaming giant as they switch over.

The platform offers series and movies ranging from Disney to Pixar, Marvel to Star Wars, and even National Geographic and classics such as the Simpsons. Will you be switching over or adding Disney+ to your binge repertoire?

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Malta Airport traffic for May just 18% below 2019 levels

Jun 13 2022

A statement by the Malta International Airport revealed that signs of a comeback are more evident now as the traffic for May became the second consecutive month to surpass half a million passengers.

The statement revealed that 554,820 passengers travelled through Malta International Airport last month, which is a recovery of 82.3% of pre-pandemic figures. The majority of countries which are directly connected to the airport have now completely removed their travel requirements coming from European or Schengen countries.

The traffic recovered with the recovery of seat capacity, which was at 81.2% of 2019 levels. 81.4% of the seats available on flights operated from and to MIA were occupied in May.

This marks an increase of 1.1% over 2019, with last month’s seat occupancy being the highest MIA has registered in the past two years. In terms of markets, Italy continued to remain in the lead, accounting for 121,120 passengers out of May’s total traffic.

The UK, France, Germany and Poland too retained their rankings from the previous month. Despite the recovery, the recovery of routes connecting the airport to its two core market – the UK and Germany – is still moving at a slow pace.

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Photo source: Rene Rossignaud

Fan falls off third floor during Harry Styles concert in Glasgow

Jun 13 2022

A Harry Styles fan fell from the top tier of Glasgow’s Ibrox Stadium during the singer’s first gig of his latest world tour last Saturday, June 11th.

The 28-year-old pop star was performing his encore at the Rangers football club to a massive crowd of 50,000 fans when the incident happened.

Police Scotland said in a statement that the officers were made aware of a man falling from a club deck at a premises on Edmiston Drive, Glasgow at around 10:15pm on Saturday. There were no suspicious circumstances, with the man seen to by medical staff.

The sold-out gig in Scotland is only the second time Styles has returned to the UK stage, following his one-night only gig in London on May 24th. The man was revealed to be alive and had avoided serious injuries.

Fans who witnessed the incident said that they were shocked and some were left traumatised. One fan said he had to run to the main door at street level to bring help.

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