Ryanair Holdings announced about a purchase of another airline which will supplement the list of Buzz (Poland), Lauda (Austria) and Ryanair (Ireland). Ryanair plans to put down the roots and expand in Malta with the acquisition of Malta Air.

Malta Air, which is not to be confused with Air Malta, the flag carrier airline of the country, is a Maltese start up airline. In the end of June, when the purchase is expected to be completed, Ryanair plans to switch six Malta-based aircraft (worth over $600m) onto the Maltese register and access non-EU markets (North Africa) from Malta.

Simultaneously, the airline said it will move 200 Malta-based crew onto local contracts paying local Maltese taxes.

In a statement, the airline revealed that in three years time it is determined to grow its Malta-based fleet up to 10 aircraft and create over 350 jobs.

“Ryanair appreciates the expertise of the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate (CAD) in licencing Malta Air to operate the B737 aircraft and we look forward to working closely with the Maltese authorities over the coming years as we hope to add over 50 more aircraft to the Maltese register“, said Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary.