Malta Air Traffic Services (MATS) has dismissed media reports suggesting Israeli military aircraft irregularly entered Maltese airspace, insisting that no breach of Malta’s sovereignty has occurred.
The clarification came after military tracking website Itamilradar.com reported that three C-130 Hercules aircraft had departed from Israel’s Nevatim Air Base on Thursday afternoon.
According to the website, two of the planes landed at the Italian-US air base in Sicily, while the tracking data for the third disappeared “near Malta.” Italian defence authorities later confirmed that an Israeli C-130 had landed at the Sicilian base.
The website also reported that two surveillance aircraft orbited the Strait of Sicily before returning to Israel together with the Hercules planes.
In a statement, MATS stressed that at no point was Maltese sovereignty violated by the entry of aircraft into Malta’s national airspace.
The agency underlined the difference between a Flight Information Region (FIR) and sovereign airspace, saying FIRs are established for air traffic management purposes and are not equivalent to sovereign national territory.
“It is normal and completely legal for military aircraft, even from other countries, to transit an FIR without seeking prior authorisation,” MATS said, describing this as a “fundamental legal distinction that should not be ignored.”
MATS urged against unnecessary speculation that could alarm the public and said it will continue to follow established surveillance procedures to safeguard Malta’s territorial security.