Saving Air Malta

We are being told that our national airline, Air Malta, is breaking even. The unofficial narrative in yesterday’s Times of Malta goes that under new Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi, Air Malta has come out of the woods. This is being said irrespective of the fact that the airline has shrugged off its legal obligation to publish its audited accounts for the past two years in a row. Now it has been leaked to the press that between April and June 2017, the national airline didn’t lose money.

Great news indeed, yet the brief article in the press failed to delve into detail on whether this little victory included a substantial government cash injection as a result of the 3 June electoral process, which included subsidised rates for people who came to vote. If this is the case, then the fanfare is to be short-lived, because the European Commission will not permit another subsidy of that kind until the 2019 MEP elections, and we all know that unless a strategic partner for Air Malta is found by that date, there won’t be a national carrier to transport voters by that time.

Minister Konrad Mizzi is trying hard to convince us that he will be as successful

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with Air Malta as with Enemalta, but while energy is essential to the country, it doesn’t get close to the spin-offs generated in our economy by the tourism sector, which is heavily dependent on the national airline. While Enemalta was, and still is a monopoly in its own right, arrivals by air are not. This means that any strategic move will be scrutinised by several different components within the tourism industry. The government must tread carefully with Air Malta before conceding a slice of its airline to an EU outsider. On the other hand, the government cannot bide its time forever with the EU, and this matter needs to be resolved by the end of the year. The road to solvency at Air Malta is steep and full of air pockets and there’s no way the government can do this without the support of the industry and the Opposition.

It is clear that the country is at loggerheads with the EU over Air Malta and it needs to prepare itself for a serious challenge. Even though the Opposition is currently in disarray following the massive electoral defeat and the current leadership contest, the government needs to reach out for support on Air Malta and try hard to secure a common stand.

The country cannot afford to be split over such an important issue. The Opposition cannot act in a partisan manner over Air Malta, even though it will be required to work with Konrad Mizzi of Panama fame. Any ulterior motive other than the interest of the national airline and that of the incoming traffic, which is crucial to our economic well-being, needs to be side-lined by all parties, including the industry itself.

It is going to be a tough ride to save Air Malta and, unless the government and the Opposition sit down together with the industry and map out a common front, the result will be disastrous. This could easily be one of the first positive moves by the newly elected PN leader. On the other hand, the government cannot act in bad faith with the Opposition as it did in the marriage equality bill, by shifting the goalposts for partisan gain. The Prime Minister should put in place a task force geared at seeking a common stand on Air Malta, one which includes a member from the Opposition along with other interested parties. It is high time we saw some nononsense strategy on our national airline.