Mediterranean Aviation Company Limited, doing business as Medavia, is an Aviation Service Provider with its head office and base of operations at Safi Aviation Park, Carmelo Caruana Road, Safi, Malta. Current services include Part 145 Maintenance and Repair, Aircraft Charter Brokerage, Aircraft Operations, Ground Handling, CAMO, as well as Part 21J Design Engineering.

Medavia
IATA ICAO Call sign
5M MDM MEDAVIA
Founded1978
Ceased operationsFebruary 2021[1]
HubsMalta International Airport
Fleet size11
HeadquartersSafi Aviation Park, Malta
Key peopleMohamed Dau Managing Director

History

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Medavia Beechcraft 1900D
 
Medavia Dash-8 102
 
Medavia De Havilland Dash 8

The airline is a Maltese-registered company founded in 1978. It started operations in September 1979. The organisation is an internationally accredited enterprise that offers a range of aviation services namely flight operations charters with its own fleet, aircraft maintenance services and business charter brokerage. Medavia had around 170 employees as of 2007.

In late December 2012, two Medavia officials were detained in Libya in the wake of the Libyan civil war over allegations that they supported the Gaddafi regime. The allegations conflicted with other claims that they had actively supported anti-Gaddafi rebels instead, and many Libyan expats in Malta protested the detentions.[2] The officials were ultimately released without charges in the first week of 2013.[3] Medavia flights served as evacuation channels for Maltese nationals and injured people in the weeks following the commencement of the battle.[4] Medavia was the only airline with flights from Libya direct to Europe, after plans for Libyan airline Ghadames Air Transport to begin Libya-Malta routes fell through.[5] In 2014, a Medavia aircraft was damaged by unrest in Tripoli, which coalesced in the Battle of Tripoli Airport.[6] In February 2021, Medavia was rebranded Mel Air[7]

Destinations

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Medavia currently offers flights to Libya, flying regularly to airports such as Mitiga and Misrata. It offers regular and ad hoc charters and long-term leases as well as ACMI operations, including CRJ-1000 operations for Binter Canarias. It previously operated regular services to destinations in Italy, Croatia and Greece besides its regular flights to Libya.

Fleet

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The Medavia fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2022):[8]

Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers
Bombardier Dash-8 Q315 1 -- 50
Beechcraft 1900D 3 -- 19
Total: 4

The Medavia fleet previously also included the following aircraft (as of March 2008):

References

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  1. ^ "Medavia". Airline History. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Medavia bosses freed". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  3. ^ Peregin, Christian (4 January 2013). "Medavia bosses freed". Times of Malta. Valletta. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. ^ "More Maltese pull out of Libya on two Medavia flights". The Malta Independent. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ^ "New Malta-Misrata flights launched by Maltese 4seasons Travel". Libya Herald. Tripoli. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Medavia plane hit during clashes at Tripoli airport". The Malta Independent. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Mel Air". Airline History. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 20.
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