Air Malta

Air Malta is gone — meet KM Malta Airlines, flying under the same code

This is one of the strangest stories in European aviation. On 30 March 2024, Air Malta — the island’s flag carrier for half a century — operated its last flight and shut down. The very next morning, a brand-new state-owned airline, KM Malta Airlines, began flying the Maltese network, reusing Air Malta’s old IATA code “KM”, much of its livery heritage, its Luqa hub and many of the same crew. Malta deliberately killed its flag carrier and launched a clone overnight — to escape EU rules that wouldn’t allow Air Malta another round of state aid.

For passengers, this splits into two very different stories. Fly the Maltese flag carrier today and you’re on KM Malta Airlines — a clean, well-capitalised EU carrier that handles EU 261 claims normally. But if the old Air Malta delayed or cancelled your flight before 31 March 2024, recovering compensation is genuinely hard — because KM Malta is a separate company the EU required to be financially discontinuous from Air Malta, and it does not inherit the old airline’s debts.

What your KM Malta claim is worth

KM Malta Airlines flies a short and medium-haul European network only — no long-haul — so EU 261’s top band never comes into play. Two bands cover everything:

There’s no €600: €600 needs a flight over 3,500 km to a non-EU airport, and KM Malta flies nothing that long. The trap is the 1,500 km line — Malta to Munich sits just under it (€250), while Malta to Frankfurt clears it (€400). Pick a route:

The legacy Air Malta question — the honest version

If your disruption was an old Air Malta flight, it’s worth being straight about where you stand. Air Malta is being wound down. An EU 261 compensation claim against it is now an unsecured creditor claim against a dissolving company that absorbed hundreds of millions in losses — realistically, very little is recoverable. And you can’t simply point the claim at KM Malta instead: as a condition of approving the new airline, the EU required a clean economic break between the two, to the point where transferring staff had to waive claims against the old company. KM Malta is not on the hook for Air Malta’s old debts.

One distinction matters. The Maltese government guaranteed ticket refunds for unflown Air Malta flights dated from the closure onward — but that covered fares, not EU 261 compensation. So a refund for a flight you never took is one thing; a €250 or €400 delay payment from before the shutdown is a far weaker, often uncollectable, claim. Pursue it through the Air Malta liquidator and Malta’s MCCAA if you wish, but don’t count on it.

Real example. A current KM Malta Malta → Frankfurt flight (~1,647 km) is delayed 3.5 hours by a technical fault. Over 1,500 km intra-EU, solvent EU carrier → €400 per passenger, claimed normally. Check a delayed flight →

Real example. An old Air Malta flight cancelled in February 2024 — before the shutdown. The claim falls against a company in liquidation; KM Malta isn’t liable. Recovery is unlikely, and the government’s guarantee covered only fare refunds, not compensation. The honest answer. Check a cancelled flight →

Delays, cancellations and overbooking (KM Malta today)

• Delays. Reach your destination 3+ hours late for a reason within KM Malta’s control and you’re owed €250 or €400. Measured at arrival.
• Cancellations. A refund or rerouting, care, and — unless 14+ days’ notice or extraordinary — the compensation on top.
• Denied boarding. Bumped from an oversold flight? Compensation immediately, plus rerouting or a refund.
• Both directions. KM Malta is an EU carrier, so the inbound flight into Malta is covered exactly like the outbound.

How to claim from KM Malta Airlines yourself

1. Gather your evidence — booking reference, boarding passes, flight number and date, the stated reason, and any receipts.
2. Confirm it qualifies — you arrived 3+ hours late (or it was cancelled with under 14 days’ notice, or you were denied boarding) and the cause wasn’t extraordinary. Check whether it was KM Malta (today) or old Air Malta (before 31 March 2024).
3. Work out the amount — €250 under 1,500 km, €400 above it. No KM Malta route reaches €600.
4. Submit KM Malta’s claim form. Use KM Malta Airlines’ claims and forms portal, choosing the delayed or cancelled flight form and stating you’re claiming under EU 261/2004, with the flight details and the arrival delay.
5. Escalate if refused. Escalate to Malta’s enforcement body, the MCCAA, for a Malta departure — or hand the claim to a specialist. (For an old Air Malta claim, the route is the liquidator, with the caveats above.)

Real KM Malta / Air Malta scenarios

• Current delay. KM Malta Malta → Frankfurt 3.5 hours late → €400 each, claimed normally.
• The 1,500 km line. Malta → Munich 3 hours late → €250; Malta → Frankfurt the same delay → €400.
• Short hop. Malta → Catania 3 hours late → €250, even on a 30-minute flight.
• Legacy Air Malta claim. A delay from before 31 March 2024 → very hard to recover; KM Malta isn’t liable.

See real won cases and verdicts →.

KM Malta Airlines at a glance

KM Malta Airlines launched on 31 March 2024 as the state-owned successor to Air Malta, led by Executive Chairman David Curmi and flying an all-Airbus A320neo fleet across around 17 European destinations from Luqa. (Roy Kinnear, Air Malta’s last CEO, is now KM Malta’s chief commercial officer — the airline runs without a “CEO” title.) For passengers the practical split is simple: the airline you fly today pays valid claims normally; the airline that may still owe you from before the shutdown probably can’t.

Why hand your Malta claim to Refundio

Whether your claim is a clean current KM Malta delay or a tangled legacy Air Malta case, the path is rarely obvious — the right band hinges on the 1,500 km line, and the old-airline claims run into a liquidation wall most passengers don’t see coming. Refundio works out exactly what’s recoverable, buys the viable claims and pays you upfront, then takes KM Malta on itself and escalates to the MCCAA if needed. No win, no fee.

Check your Malta flight claim in 2 minutes →

Frequently asked questions

Is Air Malta still flying?

No — Air Malta ceased operations on 30 March 2024. The next day, KM Malta Airlines took over the Maltese network using the same “KM” code. If you’re flying the Maltese flag carrier today, it’s KM Malta Airlines, an EU carrier fully covered by EU 261.

My flight was delayed by the old Air Malta before it closed. Can I still claim?

It’s very difficult. Air Malta is in wind-down, so the claim is an unsecured creditor claim against a dissolving company — usually little is recovered. KM Malta is a separate company the EU required to be discontinuous, so it isn’t liable. The government covered fare refunds, not EU 261 compensation.

How much does KM Malta Airlines pay for a delayed flight?

€250 or €400 per passenger — short and medium-haul only, so no €600. Under 1,500 km (Catania, Rome, Milan, Munich) is €250; over 1,500 km within the EU (Frankfurt, Paris, London, Amsterdam) is €400.

I’m flying KM Malta to London — is that covered?

Yes — KM Malta is an EU carrier and the flight departs Malta, so EU 261 governs the departure, paid in euros (€400 for that distance).

How do I claim compensation from KM Malta Airlines?

Use KM Malta’s online claims and forms portal, choosing the delayed or cancelled flight form, and state you’re claiming under EU 261/2004 with your flight details and arrival delay. If refused, escalate to Malta’s MCCAA — or hand it to Refundio.

Does KM Malta fly any long-haul routes that pay €600?

No — it’s a compact European network on an all-A320neo fleet, all short and medium-haul. With nothing over 3,500 km, its claims top out at €400.