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6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWS NEWS New titles published in 2021 on par with 2020 ESTIMATES of the Publishing Enti- ties Survey indicate that, last year, the number of new titles published remained stable when compared to the preceding year. This is 18.0 per cent less than the number of new titles released in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. On their part, last year the number of new ISBNs issued to publishing entities increased slightly to reach 528. Again, this was still 16.5 per cent less than the number of ISBNs issued in 2019. 84.7 per cent of the new ISBNs were is- sued to large publishing entities which, for the purposes of this news release, are classified as publishing entities with 11 or more new ISBNs. English and Maltese were the languag- es in which most books were published, with 64.2 per cent and 47.2 per cent of publishers publishing titles in these re- spective languages. In 2021, most publishers have worked with three or less editors and/or authors. Indeed, survey findings showed that 79.2 per cent and 64.2 per cent of them en- gaged three or less editors and authors respectively. Similarly to the previous two years in this time series, the largest share of rev- enue from local books sold last year was generated from trade publishing (68.1 per cent). Books in the trade publishing category are those books that are not intended for teaching in schools and educational insti- tutions. Moreover, the largest share of revenue was generated from printed books. In this regard, revenue from the sale of printed books stood at 86.1 per cent, while that from digital books amounted to 13.9. Last year, the easing of the pandemic restrictions resulted in a relative increase in revenue generated from in-store shop- ping. Accordingly, revenue from brick- and-mortar sales climbed from 59.5 per cent to 67.9 per cent year-on-year. In 2021, the total revenue generated from sales and licenses of trade and ed- ucational books was estimated at €3.6 million, an increase of 4.9 per cent when compared to 2020. Chart 1. Number of new ISBNs issued by year Note: The ISBNs covered by this survey concern only those issued to publishing entities in this data collection. Chart 1. Publishing entities by ISBNs issued to them: 2019 - 2021 632 515 528 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 2019 2020 2021 number of new ISBNs year Table 1. Number of publishing entities by year and affiliation 2019 2020 2021 Affiliations No affiliation 29 29 34 Affiliation with a specific bookstore 2 2 3 Affiliation with a specific distributor 3 3 4 Affiliation with a specific printing press 4 4 4 More than one affiliation 8 8 8 Total 46 46 53 Number of publishing entities Chart 2. New ISBNs issued to publishing entities: 2021 4.2% 11.1% Small publishing entities (0 ‐ 3 ISBNs) Medium publishing entities (4 ‐ 10 ISBNs) Large publishing entities (11+ ISBNs) Number of publishing entities by year and affiliation WIZZ Air Malta has been grant- ed an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and an Operating Licence (OL) by the Malta Civil Aviation Di- rectorate (CAD). Wizz Air Malta commenced operations on Tuesday with the first flight taking off from Rome Fiumicino International Airport. The new subsidiary will be based in Malta with postholder roles and the man- agement team present on-site. Wizz Air recently appointed Diarmuid Ó Conghaile as the Managing Director of Wizz Air Malta, who will take up the position in Valletta from 1 No- vember 2022. Aircraft and crews from Alba- nia, Austria, Italy, and Roma- nia will transfer from Wizz Air Hungary to the new subsidiary. Crew members will be em- ployed by Wizz Air Malta, but they will continue to operate from their current bases. Wizz Air already operates multiple AOCs within its business, including Wizz Air UK and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, alongside Wizz Air Hungary. The establishment of Wizz Air Malta will allow the group to further diversify its operations, providing enhanced flexibility and the potential for signifi- cant expansion. Aaron Farrugia, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, said he was pleased to see the collaboration between EASA and CAD. "We are expecting this airline will register a substantial amount of aircraft in our country, further increasing the number of our already strong 9H fleet. Malta will continue to support inves- tors who choose Malta as their jurisdiction for the benefit of this very important industry, and ultimately for the strength of our economy," he said. Transport Malta's CEO, Brig. Jeffrey Curmi said that the fact that the new planes are regis- tered in Malta is not only ben- eficial for Transport Malta, which is its goal to attract new aircraft to be registered on the Maltese books, but also offers new opportunities. "Compa- nies like Wizz Air will be es- tablishing a Business Center in Malta. This will offer new job opportunities for Maltese and Gozitans and will aid in increasing the network of trips to and from our country", said Curmi. Capt. Charles Pace, Director General of the Civil Aviation Directorate Malta, said that he was proud to see Malta being selected by another key indus- try stakeholder. On behalf of The Civil Avia- tion Directorate he thanked all those who collaborated to issue the AOC and OL on time. He also looks forward to see the company grow in the coming months with the addition of a substantial amount of new air- craft. EASA's Head of Air Opera- tions and Aerodromes Depart- ment, Eduard Ciofu said that "Wizz Air is a true EU operator now having a second EU AOC overseen by EASA who held a tremendous cooperation with Transport Malta, which were helping EASA at delivering this AOC,and from now on this cooperation will only be rein- forced. Together with other partners in terms of offering its ambitious group of operators the oversight that they deserve to ensure that their operations are meeting the most stringent safety requirements that we have here in Europe". Wizz Air President, Robert Carey, said: "We are pleased to announce the establishment of Wizz Air Malta, which will pro- vide opportunities to further diversify our operations and drive growth. Malta's econom- ic and regulatory regime will enable Wizz Air to strengthen its position in the global mar- ket. We would like to thank EASA and TM CAD for their support and expertise, and we look forward to working with the Maltese authorities over the coming years." Wizz Air Malta receives air operator's certificate and operating licence