PM accumulates €500,000 bill for private jet use since beginning 2017

The bill accumulated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat for the use of a private jet since the beginning of 2017 has risen to €489,464, with €79,600 spent specifically on the Tour des Capitales during the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The prime minister gave the details in Parliament when answering a question tabled by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.

Azzopardi asked questions pertaining to the use of private jets, specifically on the private jet bill for the Tour des Capitales, and the private jet bill for general use between 2017 and 2019 of the prime minister, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, and Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

Focusing on the Tour des Capitales, Muscat said that €79,600 had been spent on eight flights between 28 February and 2 March 2017.

The flights were from Malta to Stockholm, Stockholm to Prague, Prague to Bu- dapest, Budapest to Athens, Athens to Malta, Malta to Nicosia, Nicosia to Rome and Rome to Malta. The prime minister flew to meet the prime ministers of Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece and Italy, and the Cypriot president.

“It would not have been possible to carry out these visits in two days without the use of a private jet, which also substantially reduced the amount spent on accommodation for the members of the delegation.”

Prime Minister Muscat says that the average amount spent on each of the 34 flights on the private jet was of €14,396.

It was also noted that the “absolute majority” of the 34 flights related to EU meetings, for which the Maltese government had been given a substantial refund.

The destinations visited were Belgium, Italy, Spain, France, Estonia, Greece, Sweden, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Cyprus, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Minister Cardona said that he had never used a private jet in 2017, 2018, or 2019, while Minister Bartolo only used it once to accompany the prime minister to Brussels for the Tripartite Social Summit.