Abstract
The small-to-medium sized Malta International Airport (MIA) is the only airport in Malta, especially in terms of its footprint, and is considered one of the world’s most scenic landings, according to a 2016 poll. The annual passenger turnover is approximately 16 times the country’s population. MIA’s unique features include its proximity to the urban conservation area of Luqa, as well as that town’s other residential and business facilities, and also to the southern coast of Malta and the unique ecological habitats it supports. Its impacts range from noise to atmosphere pollution and, potentially, pollution of the coastal waters, in the eventuality of an air traffic accident. On the basis of the national strategic vision that Malta evolves into an expanding hub in the centre of the Mediterranean, significant investment is earmarked for MIA, including initiatives impacting security, the environment and energy.
Highlights
For long-haul travel, air transport is preferred as it is usually the fastest mode of travel compared to car, bus and train – even when affected by delays – and the safest
This paper addresses the characteristics of Malta International Airport (MIA) and its impacts on the locality of Luqa and the wider region, characterised notably by a coastline of ecological and ornithological importance
To tackle the themes outlined above, use was made of existing literature on the history of Luqa and its airport, together with a number of official sources, notably: 1. National and local planning policies of the Planning Authority (PA), the national regulator for development planning in Malta, which was renamed Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) during the years 2002–2016 as when it was merged with the Environment Protection Department; 2
Summary
For long-haul travel, air transport is preferred as it is usually the fastest mode of travel compared to car, bus and train – even when affected by delays – and the safest. Since the mid-1990s, there has been a rapid growth in air transport in all 27 European Union Member States and airports are being transformed into hubs for both international and domestic flights [3]. Mashhoodi and van Timmeren [4] classified European airport regions in five typologies: urban airports, urban periphery airports, agricultural-area airports, natural-area airports and remote airports (Table 1). Malta International Airport (MIA) (Figure 1) is a small-to-medium sized facility and the only airport in the Maltese archipelago developed largely after the Second World War era. It is neither a major airport nor a large airport region, as defined by Mashhoodi and van Timmeren [4]. Overwhelmingly referred to by foreigners who have never travelled to Malta as being
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
