Destination: Malta
Taking Pets to Malta
Taking Pets to Malta
Many people and their pets travel to Malta to emigrate for warmer weather and a different way of life. Malta is an island in the Mediterranean which is also free from Rabies and free from a horrible tapeworm called Echinococcus – which can also infect humans and is very prevalent across mainland Europe.
There are many direct flights from UK to Malta, but many can’t be used for pet travel as they either arrive too late for the pets to be cleared or they are operated by an airline which will not carry pets, such as Ryanair or Easyjet. It is always best to check which flights can take pets, but be warned that this can change at a moment’s notice. We generally use Air Malta or Thomson Airways, but will use others depending on availability.
As of January 1st 2021 there have been some changes to the requirement for European pet travel, read more about these here.
In terms of preparation for a cat or a dog to travel to Malta, then they need a microchip and rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travel and then the pets need the appropriate documentation – which can all be done with your local vets. And also for Malta they need an import permit, which has to be applied for from the Agriculture department of Malta at least 2 weeks before travel. This give the Maltese authorities a chance to check all the documents comply with their entry requirements before they allow entry of the pets. All pets will need to be checked by a vet in the 10 days before the flight to ensure they are fit and healthy enough to undertake a journey by air, and also they will need a worming treatment to help prevent the transmission of Echinococcus – the nasty worm which can affect humans
Malta is very strict on bringing pets as commercial imports or as non-commercial imports. Commercial imports are pets who are deemed to be imported to be sold and non-commercial pets are exactly that – pets who are owned by their owners. Pets who are owned by their owners for at least 6 months before flight, over 6 months old and the owner is flying within 5 days of the pets (ideally on the same flight) are deemed non-commercial and their import to Malta is reasonably simple. If any of the above are not the case then you need to seek advice from either PetAir UK or from the Maltese authorities. As commercial imports of dogs and cats to Malta require different paperwork compared to non-commercial imports.
All in all, flying dogs and cats to Malta is a little more complex than some nations and getting all the help you can in the first instance is thoroughly recommended. At PetAir UK , we can do the final checks, apply for the import permit and advise on the best and most current flights available.
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Tyson and Diesel flew to Larnaca, Cyprus
Just wanted to say thank you for all your help with getting Tyson to Cyprus with us. And the rest of the pet air team who were involved. He’s settled really well and didn’t seem phased by his long journey. My daughter was very happy to be reunited with him after her thinking that we’d lost him as he flew before us!
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Archie flew to Crete – November 2020
Thank you so much for all you help and kindness dealing with Archie’s move to Crete. He arrived today, he is happy and has been very well looked after. Christine Graves, the agency in Athens, was extremely helpful and lovely. Archie is very fond of his crate! Thank you again.
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Miki, Mini and Teddy from Malta
“Dear Sarah,
Thank you for organising and safely delivering our babies to the cattery down in Devon. We’re so pleased that all went as smoothly as it did. Was the driver, Kevin Trevitt by any chance? I still have our dog, Robbie’s flight documents from London to Larnaca in 2012 and Kevin was the driver back then. He still stars in your website, so we were only wondering.
Anyway, just wanted to thank you for all your and your team’s efforts in getting them from LHR to Devon safely. What a long, tiring day and we sincerely hope that your driver is now recovering from his heavy day. Many, many thanks to him for getting them out of the airport and down to Newton Abbot. All the zigzagging he had to do to achieve this!!
I will leave you now with our thanks.”
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Herbert the cat flew to Copenhagen, Denmark – November 2022
PetAir were absolutely great, both in the booking process and on the day when I handed over my cat into their care for her trip, making sure everything was clear and easy for me at a very stressful time when I relocated abroad. My only reservation was over how the process would go once I arrived in Denmark, but since this was entirely out of their control and in the hands of the receiving freight agents there, this was understandable. And, in any case the PetAir agent did their very best to make sure I had all the information they could pass on. On the day of travel, everything was very smooth, easy and friendly, so I cannot recommend them highly enough.
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Maya and Dienfer travelled to Zurich, Switzerland – 2018
This email is long long overdue, but we just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who took care of Maya and Dienfer so well and/or who played a great role in getting them to us safely. Thank you so much! I remember also that Pete collected them in London and Steve dropped them to the airport. Unfortunately, I don’t know the names of everyone involved or how to contact them but would be so grateful if you could pass on my thanks. And thank you all for all your help and kindness. You’ll hopefully be pleased to know that the kitties are busy enjoying their new home (and spying on the neighbours too).
With many thanks again and very best wishes, Sxxxxxxx
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Robbie flew to Lisbon, Portugal – October 2020
Thank you for all the support you gave us to bringing Robbie to his new home in the Algarve.
All of you were brilliant and gave us some much piece of mind.
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Otto to Menorca
Dear Linsey, Otto arrived safely in Menorca thanks to Petair, who looked after him brilliantly. He arrived very relaxed in his box. As you can see he looks as if he is permanently on holiday – which he is! Will definitely use Petair again and recommend you to others.
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Leo to BCN
We just wanted to say thank you so much again for everything – we are so grateful for how seamless everything went and couldn’t be more happy having Leo with us safe and sound.
