Isolated once again

The airport's website yesterday listed the flights arriving and leaving from Malta. It makes very disturbing reading.

Almost all the flights leaving Malta from 7am onwards are Air Malta flights – to Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam etc. The first nonlocal flight is by Alitalia at 11am, by easyJet at 12.30pm followed by Lufthansa and Vueling. The first flight by Ryanair leaves at 4.15pm followed by just two other flights.

Now last year Ryanair carried more passengers than Air Malta – 2.8 million. The low cost carrier even created a subsidiary airline it called Malta Air for most of its flights to Malta and others still.

Now as Covid again raises its devastating head, flights are being cancelled across the board. The very popular route to Catania has been axed as have most Ryanair flights from Catania.

As a result, Malta is once again as isolated as it was last March or as isolated as it was before the advent of low-cost carriers. Air Malta is once again the only bridge between Malta and the world. And that’s Air Malta with all its problems.

This has enormous carry-on implications for our economy as a whole and for the tourism, accommodation and food and drink sectors. It is clear that those remaining here cannot make up for the absent tourists, not even with all the goodwill in the world. Those remaining here face knock-on impacts with regards to their own jobs. The three sectors we listed earlier in this paragraph are the ones which will be most impacted.

It is now equally clear that the survival of a sector or a business or otherwise depends on the dependence on tourism – the more dependent are the most at risk. The Maltese home-grown economy can in no way substitute for a tourism-based economy.

One could argue that one day the pandemic will disappear or a vaccine will be found and we can go back to the 2019 growth but a century ago the 'Spanish flu' had no less than four successive waves, each more lethal than the preceding one.

While hoping for the best, one would be well-advised to plan for the worst. As many companies are already doing, expenditure must be cut to the barest minimum and ways must be found to do more with less. The lessons learnt from remote working, digitisation and a better

We have been enjoying a lavish lifestyle which must change now. The country cannot carry those who shirk work or burden the taxpayer. The government must go through its long list of persons of trust, consultants and quangos and slash and cut.

use of technology apply here.

We have been enjoying a lavish lifestyle which must change now. The country cannot carry those who shirk work or burden the taxpayer. The government must go through its long list of persons of trust, consultants and quangos and slash and cut.

It is very clear that what needs to be done will hurt many, possibly at the lower ends of employment. It is precisely here that the government is called upon to help. Rather than giving out vouchers and other help to all indiscriminately, the government help must be targeted.

People without a job need food, some clothing and footwear. We draw the line as regards help with rents for this will only end up in the pockets of the landlord – a special programme must be created here.

Government needs to slim down too in this crisis. The coming reshuffle should ensure the biggest Cabinet in history gets pared down.

At the same time such expenditure as needs to be made must be approved and ensured.

Hopefully, if the pandemic could be brought under control, we will emerge with minimal damage and with salutary lessons learnt.