Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/917808
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2017 News 4 OPENING SOON IN MALTA MASIMO COSTA PARLIAMENTARY plenary sessions will start to take place earlier on Wednes- days, come next year Parliamentary plenary ses- sions will start to take place earlier on Wednesdays, come next year Come next year, parlia- mentary plenary sessions on Wednesdays will take place from 4pm to 7pm, adjourn- ing at 7:30pm, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne an- nounced in parliament yes- terday evening. Today's sitting will be the last for 2017, with sessions restarting on January 15 next year, and the first early Wednesday session being planned for January 17. Fearne said that this ini- tiative was being done in the interest of allowing more time for MPs to spend with their families. Parliament to meet earlier on Wednesdays, come next year YANNICK PACE DATA published last week by Eurostat shows that Malta's aircraft reg- istry grew the fastest in 2015, when compared to other EU member states. According to the Eu- ropean Union's statis- tics office, Malta added 39 planes to its register, a 37% increase. Hun- gary's register grew at the second fastest rate (20%) and Greece (14%). In fact, Malta's register has been among the top three fastest growing registers since 2011. In 2015, the UK had the largest share of reg- istered aircraft, at 1,262. When contacted, a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry con- firmed that the latest fig- ure stood at 270 aircraft, with 2015 having been seen the addition of a re- cord 61 aircraft. "Malta has become the jurisdiction of choice for several operators," added the spokesper- son. "35 companies have made Malta their prin- cipal base of business." This, said the minis- try, was down to the ef- ficiency of local regula- tory authorities and the legal framework regu- lating the sector. "A revised registra- tion act and the fact that Malta is a signa- tory of the Cape Town convention gives them confidence," added the spokesperson. The Cape Town Treaty is an international trea- ty intended to stand- ardise transactions of movable property, like aircraft. The absolute majority of aircraft on the Mal- tese registry are busi- ness jets, which operate global air taxi networks, the spokesperson said. Maltese aircraft registry grew at the fastest rate in the EU in 2015 – Eurostat