Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1158932
22.08.19 2 MORE Maltese chose to travel abroad on low-cost airlines in the first half of this year, figures out yesterday show. From the 294,000 who trav- elled abroad by air, almost 53% chose to fly on low-cost airlines. Another 11,000 travelled abroad by sea. e number of low-cost travel- lers was 20,000 higher than that for the same period last year. But while low-cost travellers totalled 154,258, those using other airlines stood at 139,360, an increase of just under 2,000 people. e figures were released by the National Statistics Office on Wednesday and show that Ita- ly and the UK remain the two most popular destinations for Maltese tourists. ere were 305,001 Maltese who travelled abroad between January and June, up from the 283,891 who did likewise last year. Travel to EU member states was the preferred option for 88% of travellers. Almost 90% travelled inde- pendently and not through package deals, while 57% stayed in hotels. Maltese traveling abroad spent €244.6 million this year, a 10% increase. Maltese prefer low-cost travel Figures from the National Statistics Office show that Maltese travelling abroad between January and June spent €244.6 million 53% of Maltese who travelled abroad by air chose to fly on low-cost airlines COMLUX has announced that its VIP operations division in Europe, Comlux Malta Ltd, has been awarded the Certif- icate of Registration to the International Standard for Business Aircraft Opera- tions (IS-BAO) Stage 3 by the Interna- tional Business Aviation Council (IBAC). e approval confirms that the Safe- ty Management System (SMS) is fully integrated into Comlux Aviation's air- craft management operations and that the company consistently maintains the highest standards of safety and security in the aviation industry. Andrea Zanetto, CEO Comlux Avi- ation said the company was proud to have joined a select group of companies worldwide which have reached the IS- BAO Stage 3, the highest-level registra- tion issued by IBAC. "anks to the commitment, dedica- tion and "safety" culture of all our em- ployees around the world, it took us only 4 years to improve from IS-BAO Stage 1 to IS-BAO Stage 3," he said. "is award demonstrates a superior level of safety and professionalism in our everyday op- erations and our engagement to always provide our VIP aircraft owners and VIP charter flyers with the best and safer ser- vice ever." Comlux is one of the leaders in busi- ness aviation, transaction, and comple- tion services. For over 15 years, it has been engineer- ing luxury for VIP customers looking for personal and professional management of their private aviation needs, including aircraft sales and acquisitions, aircraft operations and charter management, cabin interiors, maintenance and up- grades. Comlux achieves IS-BAO Stage 3 aircraft operations certification HELD between 2 and 4 August at the InterContinental Arena Conference Centre in St Julian's, the fifth edition of the Nova Series, now considered Malta's largest local event for video gaming fans, came to a positive close. Over 260 participants battled it out over the weekend in a variety of game tournaments, ranging from the ever-popular Fortnite to Coun- ter-Strike: Global Offensive. Over 1,000 attendees visited over the three days, enjoying activities such as virtual reality, tabletop and board games. "Seeing such interest always spurs us to be better and do more for the local community," said Nicolai Gauci, Director of Eden Esports. For the first time ever in a local event, winners of certain tourna- ments were given the opportunity to represent Malta and compete in the World Electronic Sports Games (also called WESG), a large international esports tournament that gave away over $2.5 million in prize money dur- ing its last edition. A few weeks ago, some of the best Fortnite players in the world won a total of $30 million in the Fortnite World Cup. In another title, DOTA 2, contestants are currently competing for over $30 million, esports' largest single prize pool yet. e Nova Series was sponsored by SCAN Malta, GO, AutoFull Gaming Chairs and GamingMalta. Eden Esports hosts another successful Nova Series event