Malta Airshow 2023: Rain, Jets and Rainbow Cheers – In Pictures

In pictures: Airshow wows the crowds despite inclement weather
By Hot Malta Staff

Żonqor Point, Marsascala – Grey skies and a brisk north-westerly swell did little to dampen Maltese spirits on Sunday as the Malta International Airshow roared back into life after a three-year pandemic hiatus. Rain ponchos replaced sunscreen, pastizzi were eaten under umbrellas and the traditional September swarm of boats ringing St Thomas Bay was thinner than usual, yet the crowd still erupted when the Italian Frecce Tricolori painted a tricolour heart above the cotton-wool clouds – a fleeting promise that the island’s favourite outdoor spectacle had truly returned.

By 09:30 the coast road was already gridlocked from Żabbar to St Thomas Tower. Farmers who normally sell ħobż biż-żejt from car boots upgraded to pop-up gazebos, hawking Ftira sandwiches to drivers stuck in stationary traffic. Inside the enclosure, the Armed Forces of Malta band warmed up with a jaunty march while children in plastic Malta-flag capes chased each other between the static displays. “We came prepared – kagħan, thermos and the full rain set from Scotts,” laughed Maria Camilleri, 34, of Żejtun, balancing her toddler on one hip. “But nothing beats hearing those jets echo off the limestone cliffs; it’s like the island itself is cheering.”

Met Office data recorded 14 mm of rain between 08:00 and 11:00, yet the organisers – the Malta Aviation Society – delayed rather than cancelled. When the ceiling lifted to 1,200 ft the show commenced with a water-spray take-off by the AFM’s AW139 helicopter, its downdraught whipping up a salty mist that mingled with the drizzle. Spectators responded with a rousing “Mela!” – the Maltese all-purpose exclamation that can mean anything from awe to “finally!”

Local aviation enthusiasts had extra reason to cheer: 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Malta Aviation Museum at Ta’ Qali, and the restored 1958 RAF Chipmunk wore celebratory gold-and-blue livery for its first public sortie since 2019. Pilot Charles Pace, 68, of Rabat, described the flight as “emotional”. “I learned to fly in this very aircraft at RAF Luqa in 1976,” he said after landing on the wet grass. “To bring her home in front of my grandchildren – that’s the real Maltese dream, bigger than any aerobatic loop.”

Economically, the show is a mini-boost for the south-east. Marsascala restaurant Il-Ġnien told Hot Malta they served 450 covers by 15:00, double a normal Sunday. Mayor Mario Calleja estimated that 20,000 visitors passed through the bay area, filling every Airbnb from Xgħajra to Marsaxlokk. “We’ve had German plane-spotters booking rooms since January,” said Claire Bugeja, who rents two converted fishermen’s houses overlooking the parade route. “They come for the aircraft, but they stay for the lampuki and the village festa vibes.”

Culturally, the airshow occupies a unique place in Malta’s calendar. Older spectators still call it “il-wirja tal-ajru tal-Luqa”, recalling the 1960s when RAF Vulcans and later Libyan Mirages thrilled schoolchildren bussed in from Valletta. The shift to the coast at Żonqor in 2021 was controversial – environmental NGOs warned about habitat disturbance – yet Sunday’s turnout suggests the public has embraced the new amphitheatre of sea and sky. “It feels more Maltese somehow,” reflected historian Dr Joan Abela. “The Knights watched for Ottoman sails from these same ramparts; today we watch for Eurofighters. The island keeps reinventing its front-row seat to history.”

Even the weather became part of the narrative. When a sudden cloudburst paused the display, spontaneous singing broke out: first the Eurovision favourite “Je me casse”, then the classic “Viva Malta”. By the time the Turkish Stars punched through the gloom in tight formation, the rain had eased and a rainbow arched over Delimara. Phones shot up, Instagram stories glowed, and someone released a Maltese-flag drone that buzzed cheekily alongside the Spanish Aviocar transport. The announcer quipped: “That’s not in the programme, but we’ll allow it – creativity is in the Maltese DNA.”

As the last Hawk jet disappeared towards Sicily, families trudged back to their cars leaving behind only footprints and the smell of jet fuel mingling with wet garrigue. Clean-up volunteers from local scout groups filled sack after sack of plastic bottles – a reminder that spectacle and sustainability still sit uncomfortably together. Yet the mood was resoundingly upbeat. “We needed this,” summarised Etienne Micallef, 19, an aircraft-engineering student at MCAST. “After COVID, after inflation, after everything, the roar of afterburners sounds like hope.”

Next year the Malta International Airshow is already pencilled in for the last weekend of September. Meteorologists will cross their fingers for high pressure, but judging by Sunday’s soggy, smiling faces, the island will show up regardless – raincoats optional, patriotism compulsory.