How to Get to Malta?

Malta sits roughly in the middle of the Mediterranean, about 90 km south of Sicily. That sounds romantic until you realise it means every flight is that little bit longer than you’d expect. There’s one airport, one main ferry route, and no train. But getting here is simple enough once you know the options — and there are more of them than most people realise.

Getting to Malta by Air

Almost everyone flies in. Malta International Airport (MLA) is in Luqa, roughly 8 km from Valletta and about 10 km from the Sliema/Gżira harbour area. It’s a single-terminal airport — small enough that you can be through passport control and out the door in 15–20 minutes on a good day. On a bad day (two Ryanair flights landing simultaneously at 11pm), add another 20. There’s free WiFi, a handful of cafés, and a Wolt delivery zone if you’re desperate.

Who Flies Here

Malta has direct flights from most of Europe. The main players:

KM Malta Airlines — the national carrier, launched in March 2024 after the old Air Malta finally folded. (If you see “Air Malta” referenced elsewhere online, that airline no longer exists.) KM Malta flies A320neos to around 19 European destinations, with twice-daily flights to London, Munich, Paris, and Rome. Full-service airline — business class, checked bags included, none of the budget-airline games. For summer 2026 they’ve added Tel Aviv and Palermo.

Ryanair — by far the biggest carrier serving Malta by volume. Dozens of European cities, and if you’re flexible on dates you can find fares under €30 one-way. The catch, as always: baggage fees, seat selection charges, and boarding processes designed to make you feel like livestock. More on surviving Ryanair with children below.

easyJet, Wizz Air, Jet2 — other budget options. easyJet and Jet2 serve mainly UK airports. Wizz Air covers the Poland/Romania/Hungary corridor well.

TUI Airways — charter and package flights from UK airports (Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, others). Mostly seasonal. TUIfly also operates from Germany starting April 2026. Often bundled with hotel packages, but flight-only seats exist too.

SAS — flies Copenhagen–Malta as a seasonal summer route, with connections from Oslo and Stockholm. Worth knowing if you’re coming from Scandinavia and want a full-service carrier instead of Ryanair.

Full-service carriers — Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Swiss, ITA Airways (the Alitalia replacement, flying Rome–Malta), Brussels Airlines, and SAS all serve Malta directly or through their hubs. Etihad has historically connected Abu Dhabi to Malta, though their schedule has been disrupted in early 2026. Coming from North America, Asia, or Australia? You’ll connect through one of these hubs — typically London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, or Dubai. Total travel time from the US East Coast runs about 12–14 hours; from Australia via the Gulf, 20–24 hours.

One thing worth knowing: some routes are seasonal only. The budget airlines add and drop routes depending on demand. A city that has three weekly flights in July might have zero in January. KM Malta and the big carriers tend to be more stable year-round, but always check current schedules rather than assuming last summer’s route still exists.

Summary of Direct Flights to Malta

Swipe left on mobile to see the full table.

Routes as of early 2026. Airlines add and drop routes regularly — especially seasonal ones — so always check the airline’s website before booking. If you spot something outdated here, drop me a line.

Finding and Booking Flights

With 30+ airlines serving Malta, checking each one individually is a waste of your afternoon. Use an aggregator:

• Skyscanner — the one I’d start with. Searches across most airlines and booking sites, and the “Whole Month” view makes it easy to find the cheapest dates.
• GoToGate — solid for comparing package deals across carriers.
• LastMinute.com — worth checking for last-minute fares and flight+hotel bundles that don’t always appear elsewhere.

These are also handy for finding connecting flights you wouldn’t have thought of. There’s no direct service from, say, Lisbon or Helsinki to Malta on every day of the week — but a one-stop connection through Rome or London might work out. And a 90-minute stopover at Fiumicino with a laptop and a coffee isn’t dead time — it’s a work session with free WiFi. If you work remotely, don’t automatically rule out connections just because a direct flight exists from somewhere else.

All Airline Links

Quick reference — every airline currently serving Malta: Aegean Airlines, Aer Lingus, Air Baltic, Air France, Air Serbia, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Condor, Delta, easyJet, Emirates, Etihad, Eurowings, ITA Airways, Jet2, KM Malta Airlines, LOT, Lufthansa, Luxair, Norwegian, Qatar Airways, Ryanair, SAS, Swiss, Transavia, TUI Airways, TUIfly, Tunisair Express, Turkish Airlines, Volotea, Vueling, and Wizz Air.

The Flight Itself: Malta Is at the Edge of Europe

Something people don’t register until they’re sitting on the tarmac: Malta is right at the southern edge of Europe, and flights take longer than you’d guess.

• From Rome or Milan: ~1.5–2 hours
• From Paris or Berlin: ~2.5 hours
• From London: ~3 hours
• From Scandinavia or the Baltics: ~3.5 hours

These aren’t long-haul distances, but they’re not the quick 90-minute hops you might be used to within continental Europe. That means you have real time to fill. You could work — most budget airlines now have passable WiFi if you’re willing to pay, and 2.5 hours of uninterrupted focus is a productivity gift. You could download a film or a podcast beforehand. You could read, sleep, or just stare out the window and do nothing at all. Some people call that “rawdogging” a flight. I just call it thinking.

The point is: prepare for it. Charge your devices, download your entertainment, bring a book, pack a snack. A 3-hour Ryanair flight with nothing to eat, nothing to read, and a dead phone battery is a special kind of purgatory.

Flying with Small Kids on Ryanair (and Other Budget Airlines)

If you’re heading to Malta with young children on a budget airline, a few things that catch people out:

• The flight is long enough to matter. A 45-minute hop somewhere is survivable with a packet of raisins and some goodwill. A 2.5–3 hour Ryanair flight is a different thing entirely. You’ll need real entertainment — colouring books, a loaded tablet with headphones (please, headphones), snacks that don’t crumble into the seat fabric, and something for their ears during descent. Small children and cabin pressure changes are not friends.
• Budget airlines don’t seat families together unless you pay for seat selection. With Ryanair, if you don’t buy allocated seats, you’ll be randomly assigned — and a 3-year-old sitting six rows away from you is nobody’s idea of a relaxing start to the holiday. Pay for the seats. It’s one of the few Ryanair upsells that’s actually worth the money.
• The gate-to-terminal walk at MLA can be long. Depending on which gate your plane parks at, there’s a bus transfer between aircraft and terminal. With a pushchair, a carry-on, and a toddler, that adds 10–15 minutes of chaos. Not the end of the world, but expect it so it doesn’t catch you off guard.

For more on what to do once you land with kids, see the family travel guide.

Getting to Malta by Ferry

The only regular passenger ferry to Malta runs from Sicily. Forget what you might read elsewhere about abundant ferry options from across Italy — in practice, your realistic choice is Virtù Ferries from Pozzallo. If you’re thinking of combining Malta and Sicily, the ferry is how you connect them.

Virtù Ferries: Pozzallo to Valletta

The main route, the one that actually works for most travellers. Virtù Ferries runs high-speed catamarans between Pozzallo (southeast Sicily) and Valletta’s Grand Harbour.

• Crossing time: ~90 minutes
• Frequency: multiple daily sailings in summer, reduced but regular in winter
• Cars: yes, but book well in advance (especially June–September)
• Kids: under 4 travel free; ages 4–13 get roughly 60% off
• On board: cafe, decent seating, WiFi

Virtù also runs a Catania–Valletta service, mainly in summer. Longer crossing, but saves you the drive to Pozzallo if you’re already in eastern Sicily.

One honest warning: the crossing can get rough. The Malta Channel is exposed, and in winter especially, sailings get cancelled or rescheduled when the sea kicks up. If you’re prone to seasickness, take precautions or pick a calm day. Check their latest voyage updates before you travel.

Long-Haul Ferries from Mainland Italy

There is a Genoa–Valletta service operated by GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci). This is primarily a freight route that also carries passengers. It takes roughly 30 hours, departs once or twice a week, and the experience is more “sleeping on a cargo ship” than “Mediterranean cruise.” The boats have cabins and a restaurant and are perfectly safe — but most visitors won’t find it practical unless they’re bringing a vehicle from northern Italy and want to skip driving the length of the country.

Grimaldi Lines also occasionally serves the Malta route, but schedules are irregular and geared toward cargo. Direct Ferries is a decent aggregator for checking what’s actually running.

Bringing Your Car to Malta

You can drive through Italy to Sicily and take the Virtù Ferries car ferry from Pozzallo. It’s a real option — particularly for longer stays, families with a lot of gear, or anyone who wants the freedom of their own vehicle on the island.

A few practical notes:

• Book the car space early — especially between June and September.
• Insurance: make sure your policy covers the ferry crossing and driving in Malta.
• Driving in Malta: left-hand traffic (British legacy), narrow roads, creative signage, and parking in the harbour towns is a competitive sport. If you’ve never driven here, read the honest car guide first.

You can also reach Sicily by train from elsewhere in Europe — Eurostar to Paris, TGV to Milan, then a sleeper or day train down through Italy to Syracuse, crossing the Strait of Messina by rail ferry along the way. From Syracuse, Pozzallo is about an hour by car or local bus. Beautiful journey if you have the time, but with a family and luggage, the combination of trains, connections, and a final ferry is a long day. Be honest with yourself about whether the scenic route is worth an extra 15+ hours over a direct flight.

Private Jets, Helicopters, and Air Taxis

Malta International Airport has a VIP terminal that handles private jet arrivals separately — no queues, no crowds, straight from aircraft to car. Companies like Hyperion Aviation (Malta-based), BLADE, and various international charter brokers arrange flights to MLA on everything from light jets to long-range cabin aircraft. Not cheap — expect around €2,000/hour for a turboprop up to €10,000+/hour for a heavy jet — but if you’re chartering for a group or have specific timing needs, the infrastructure is there.

There’s also a heliport on Gozo (Xewkija Heliport) that used to serve a scheduled Malta–Gozo helicopter link, but that ended in 2006 and hasn’t come back despite various government attempts to revive it. Today the heliport handles private charters only — companies like HeliFly Malta and Flapper will arrange on-demand helicopter transfers between MLA and Gozo, and scenic flights over the archipelago. Handy if money isn’t the constraint and you want to skip the Gozo ferry entirely, but there’s no timetabled service you can just buy a seat on.

For something in between, Malta Wings operates an air taxi using a twin-engine Tecnam P2006T. They fly between Malta and several Sicilian airports (Catania, Palermo, Comiso, Trapani) in under an hour. More practical than chartering a jet, more flexible than a scheduled airline — and the bird’s-eye view of Etna on the approach to Catania is worth it on its own.

From the Airport to Your Door

MLA is small and close to everything, so getting to your accommodation is usually quick. Options, roughly best to worst:

• Bolt, Uber, or eCabs (app-based rides) — download the apps before you land. Bolt tends to be cheapest; eCabs is the local Maltese option with slightly more reliable availability. Expect €9–15 to reach Sliema, Gżira, or St Julian’s. Pickup is usually at the main car park (Level -1), not the arrivals hall — follow the signs. This is my go-to and it’s been solid every time.
• White taxis (official airport taxis) — booth in the arrivals hall with fixed-price fares on a board. You pay at the counter, get a ticket, they assign you a driver. A bit pricier than the apps (~€17–20 to Valletta, ~€20–25 to Sliema/St Julian’s), but hassle-free and you don’t need a working phone. Queue builds up when multiple flights land at once.
• Public buses — Tallinja runs several routes from the airport. The X2 goes to Sliema via Valletta. The TD3 is faster and runs at night. Fares: €1.50 (winter) / €2.00 (summer). An Explore card gives unlimited rides for 7 days at €21. Buses are air-conditioned and have WiFi. The downside: they can be packed, they don’t always run on time, and wrangling suitcases on a crowded bus after a 3-hour flight with kids is nobody’s idea of fun. Download the Tallinja app for real-time tracking — the printed timetables are more aspirational than accurate.
• Shared shuttle (Maltatransfer.com, Terravision) — cheaper than a taxi but slower, because the shuttle makes multiple hotel stops. Fine solo and in no hurry; less fun with a family.
• Hotel/apartment pickup — some hotels and holiday rentals offer airport transfers. If you’re in a short-let apartment, ask your host in advance. Often the easiest option if it’s available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once you’ve landed and settled in, the island is small enough that getting around is easy. For the full picture on buses, ferries to Gozo, car rental, and getting between towns, head to the Malta Travel Guide. Still deciding whether Malta is the right destination? Is Malta Right for You? might help. And for where to base yourself, the Where to Stay guide covers every area on the island.

One more thing: getting out again

MLA’s departure terminal is small and gets crowded fast, especially in summer when multiple flights bunch together in the evening. A few things I’ve learned from too many hours staring at gate boards:

• The La Valette Club lounge is worth the day pass if you want quiet seating, food, and WiFi without fighting for a chair. If that’s not in the budget, read on.
• The outdoor terrace near Gate 1 — it’s technically a smoking area, but it’s also the quietest spot airside. Fresh air, fewer people, and a view of the apron.
• The dining area at the back of the restaurant near Gate 1 has a large window overlooking the runway. Most people grab food and eat near the gates, so this corner stays relatively calm.
• Hard Rock Cafe — it’s a sit-down restaurant, so it’s less of a scrum than the open seating areas. Not cheap, but you’re paying for space and a table as much as the food.

Everything else — the main seating, the gate areas, the shops — is shoulder-to-shoulder at peak times. If you’re flying out on a Friday or Saturday evening, give yourself extra time and claim your quiet corner early.

Last updated: March 2026. Routes and prices change — if you spot anything outdated, let me know.

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