British Airways is launching a daily service between Gatwick and Malta next summer.
The airline will deploy a combination of aircraft — a Boeing 737 and Airbus A319 and A320 — on the direct route to Luqa International Airport.
The route starts on March 30. It will have been five years since BA last flew to Malta in 2009.
Peter Simpson, BA's director at Gatwick, said: "We are delighted to be launching this new route to Malta for summer 2014 allowing us to return to the island, which we last served in 2009.
"We believe the convenient timings for the services will make the route attractive to tourists as well as those visiting friends and relatives."
BA will also be increasing the frequency of flights from Gatwick to Salzburg, Naples, Dubrovnik, Marrakech and Catania during summer 2014.
Last week, the airline's A380 superjumbo made its first long-haul flight to Los Angeles (see news, September 24).
Graham Smith