Malta Airport

Terminal and services at Malta Airport

One passenger terminal of 72,000 m² handles every flight at Malta Airport, and the airport operates 24 hours a day. Departing passengers enter the Check-in Hall, pass a central security area about 250 metres from the check-in counters and walk on to the gates, roughly 400 metres from check-in according to the operator's own table of distances. Arriving passengers leave through the Welcomers' Hall, where the bus sales office, the tourist information office and a pharmacy are found.

Malta belongs to the Schengen area, so the gates of Malta Airport are divided into a Schengen and a non-Schengen zone. Flights to and from the United Kingdom and Ireland use the non-Schengen side and include passport control. The UK government advises that British travellers may have to register fingerprints and a photo under the EU's Entry/Exit System on arrival, and that a British passport must have been issued less than ten years before the day of arrival.

Wi-Fi is free throughout Malta Airport on the network Maltairport Wi-Fi, and charging points are spread across the Check-in Hall, the food court and the departures area, including kiosks in both the Schengen and the non-Schengen seating areas. The luggage deposit in the Check-in Hall, near the Customer Services Information Centre, is staffed around the clock and charges €5 per piece for up to 12 hours and €10 for up to 24 hours. Cash machines of BOV and HSBC stand in the Check-in Hall and the Welcomers' Hall, with a third machine near Gate 4.

Families find a dedicated security lane at Malta Airport and a parental room after security, opposite Gate 4. The airport sets no limit on the number of hand-luggage items at security, but each airline applies its own rules; for hold baggage the operator names 20 kg as the typical economy allowance.

Two La Valette Club lounges serve Malta Airport: one in departures, with a terrace overlooking the airfield, and one for arriving passengers, reached from the baggage reclaim area. The observation deck on the third floor of the terminal is free and open 24 hours a day. The tourist information office in the Welcomers' Hall opens daily from 10:00 to 21:00, except on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and the pharmacy there opens daily from 08:00 to 14:30 and from 15:00 to 22:00.

Services in the terminal

• Free Wi-Fi on the network Maltairport Wi-Fi
• Luggage deposit in the Check-in Hall, open 24 hours: €5 up to 12 hours, €10 up to 24 hours per piece
• Left Item Service for keys or documents that fit an A4 envelope, flat rate €5
• Malta Public Transport sales office in the Welcomers' Hall, daily 08:00-19:30, plus ticket machines open 24 hours
• Tourist information office in the Welcomers' Hall, daily 10:00-21:00
• Pharmacy in the Welcomers' Hall, daily 08:00-14:30 and 15:00-22:00
• La Valette Club lounges in departures and in arrivals
• Observation deck on the third floor, free, open 24 hours
• Cash machines in the Check-in Hall, the Welcomers' Hall and near Gate 4
• Family security lane and parental room opposite Gate 4
• Assistance call points at the drop-off area, in the car park tunnel and in Park East

Location, access and distances

Malta Airport lies between the villages of Luqa and Gudja in the south of the island, about 5 km south-west of Valletta in a straight line. The postal address is Luqa LQA 4000, and the terminal is signposted from the main roads of the island. Malta has no motorways, so every approach runs over ordinary main roads; the 8 km to Valletta take about 15 to 20 minutes when traffic is light and considerably longer in the morning and evening rush hours.

The Airport Direct buses are the simplest public link. According to Malta Public Transport, TD4 runs every 30 minutes to Valletta and to the Gozo fast ferry at Lascaris, TD3 every 30 minutes to St Julian's, Sliema, Gżira and Msida, TD2 every 30 minutes to St Julian's, Paceville and Pembroke, TD1 every hour to Rabat, Buġibba, Mellieħa and Ċirkewwa, and TD5 every hour to Rabat, St Paul's Bay and Buġibba. A ride costs €3 per passenger, or €3.50 on TD1, and is paid in cash or by contactless card on board; no booking is needed. The buses offer USB sockets, Wi-Fi and luggage space.

Travellers who remember the express routes X1 to X4 will look for them in vain at Malta Airport. Malta Public Transport withdrew the four routes on 20 April 2025 and replaced them with the Airport Direct services and with ordinary routes such as 88 to Valletta, 205 to Birżebbuġa, 208 to the University and Mater Dei Hospital and 214 to Rabat and Buġibba. Route 119 runs to Birżebbuġa, Marsaxlokk and Marsaskala, route 201 to Dingli and Rabat, and routes 71, 72 and 73 to Żurrieq, Safi and Qrendi from the nearby stop Ċintra.

Ordinary day routes cost €2.00 for a single journey in winter, a fare that applies from 18 October 2026 to 12 June 2027, and €2.50 in summer; night routes cost €3. A single ticket is valid for two hours and allows changes, and travelling without a valid ticket brings a fine of €50. The Explore Flex card covers unlimited travel including the Airport Direct buses for €21 over four days or €27 over seven days, and the shareable 12 Single Day Journeys card costs €19, with an Airport Direct ride counting as two journeys.

Gozo is reached from Malta Airport in two ways. The car ferry of Gozo Channel sails from Ċirkewwa, the terminus of bus TD1 at the northern tip of Malta, to Mġarr on Gozo; a foot passenger pays €4.65 and a car with driver €15.70 for the round trip, and the fare is collected on Gozo before the return crossing. The fast passenger ferry leaves from Lascaris in Valletta, a stop of bus TD4, and the bus company sells Explore Flex bundles with a return crossing for €36 over four days or €42 over seven.

Distances from Malta Airport

• Valletta – about 8 km · about 15-20 min
• Sliema – about 10 km · about 20-25 min
• St Julian's and Paceville – about 11 km · about 20-30 min
• Mdina and Rabat – about 11 km · about 20 min
• Marsaxlokk – about 8 km · about 15 min
• Buġibba and St Paul's Bay – about 20 km · about 30-40 min
• Mellieħa – about 25 km · about 40-50 min
• Ċirkewwa (Gozo ferry) – about 30 km · about 45-60 min

Address: Malta International Airport, Luqa LQA 4000, Malta · Phone: +356 2124 9600 · GPS 35.8575, 14.4775