Tourism Ministry denies 'ongoing' Air Malta talks with Banayoti Holdings Ltd

The Tourism Ministry has denied reports claiming that the government is currently engaged in talks with Banayoti Holdings.

In a statement, the ministry confirmed that preliminary talks had taken place, but denied that these talks were still ongoing.

“The ministry confirms that while some preliminary talks had taken place with this person, there are no ongoing talks connected with Air Malta, with this person or with any company that he owns or where he has interests,” read a statement.

On Sunday it was reported that Banayoti Holdings, a private company based in Canada and the UK, was in talks with Air Malta over acquiring a 49.9% stake in Air Malta. Banayoti Holdings is controlled by Ed Banayoti, the former husband of Princess Aisha of Jordan.

According to the report, Banayoti Holdings confirmed that talks were underway and said that the company had submitted a formal offer to the government.

"We can confirm that talks with the Office of the Prime Minister and other senior government officials are ongoing and that we have submitted a formal offer for the minority shareholding in Air Malta, currently for sale ... We are now awaiting an official response from the government, as it seems that they are still talking to Alitalia,” a spokesman for Banayoti Holdings told the newspaper.

Last week, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis insisted that talks with Alitalia were still ongoing following reports that claiming that Etihad had decided against investing in the national airline.