Medavia (Malta International) has avoided being deemed a non-European airline by the European Commission (EC) following the sale of a 51% stake to Spanish operator Air Nostrum (YW, Valencia Manises).
The Times of Malta reports the transaction was concluded at the "eleventh hour" and after pressure from Transport Malta to resolve the issue.
EC ownership and control regulations require either an EU citizen or firm to control at least 51% of a bloc-based carrier's stock and exercise effective control over it.
For its part, Medavia was established in Malta in 1978 as a joint venture between the Maltese and Libyan governments. Since then, it has been using a Maltese (EU) license despite being fully owned by Libyan interests.
