Flights to Malta from the UK, airport by airport

Finding a flight to Malta from Britain is easy. The hard part is choosing, because the list of UK airports with a direct route is longer than most people expect. What really changes the trip is the date, and that’s where I’d put my attention. If you’re still weighing the plane against the Pozzallo ferry or a cruise, I compare them in how to get to Malta.

Which UK airports fly direct

Malta International Airport publishes its departures with airline and flight number, so I took a two-day snapshot, 28 and 29 September 2026, to see what an ordinary autumn week looks like. For London there were flights to Heathrow with KM Malta Airlines, to Gatwick with British Airways and KM Malta Airlines, and to Stansted and Luton with Ryanair. Beyond London the board showed Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast, with Ryanair and Jet2 between them.

That isn’t a timetable. Some of those routes run less often in winter, and others I didn’t catch because they don’t fly every day. It’s still the most honest picture I can give you from an official source, and a good starting point before you open any comparison site.

The airlines at Luqa

The airport lists 29 airlines working from it. For British travellers the ones that matter are British Airways, KM Malta Airlines, Ryanair, Jet2, easyJet and TUI Fly. Gozo’s tourism ministry describes KM Malta Airlines as the country’s new national carrier. If you read somewhere that the flag carrier is Air Malta, that’s out of date, and the airport’s current list no longer includes it.

For British travellers flying home, remember the UK sits outside Schengen, so your departure goes through passport control on the non-Schengen side of the terminal.

I don’t quote fares. They change daily and depend on how far ahead you book, and no official source publishes a reference price. I’d rather tell you when the pressure on seats is lowest, because that is measured.

When is it cheapest to fly to Malta?

The airport’s annual summary shows how seasonal Malta is. In 2025 it handled 10,061,969 passengers, with August (1,072,390) and July (1,035,341) the busiest months and January (507,574) and February (560,553) the quietest. August 2026 went up again, to 1,204,465. Twice the passengers in summer means twice the competition for seats, which is why I’d search winter and the shoulder months first.

There’s a knock-on saving once you land. Bus fares drop from €2.50 to €2 in the winter season, and the sea in late September is still warm. I go through the year month by month in the best time to visit Malta.

Arrival times matter as much as the fare

When I compare flights, I look at the landing time as closely as the price. On the board I checked, the departures back to the UK were spread across the day, from a Glasgow flight at 05:45 to a Belfast one at 21:20, which tells you the inbound flights land at all hours too. A late arrival can look cheap and then cost you a taxi and half a night’s sleep, while an early departure home may mean a pre-dawn transfer from Mellieħa or Gozo. I’d work out the whole journey, bus or taxi included, before choosing the cheaper seat. How to get from the terminal to your hotel at any hour is covered in Malta airport to Valletta.

Getting round the gaps

If your nearest airport only flies to Malta in summer, you’ve got two sensible options. A domestic hop to London or Manchester, both of which had several departures on my snapshot, or a connection through another European hub. If you book two separate tickets, leave a generous gap, because nobody will rebook you if the first flight is late.

Spanish-speaking readers often ask me about Madrid, and for British travellers combining Spain and Malta it’s worth knowing that route is direct too. I cover it in Madrid to Malta flights.

Once you land

All flights arrive at the same terminal in Luqa, and the Airport Direct buses leave from the bus station about 100 metres from arrivals, for €3. What’s inside the terminal and which bus suits your hotel is in the Malta airport guide. And if you’d rather book flight and room together, compare first with Malta holiday packages, because depending on the dates it may or may not pay off.