New national airline received 370,000 bookings: Clyde Caruana

KM Malta Airlines, the new national airline, as received 370,000 bookings so far, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Monday.

Addressing parliament, Caruana said around 4,000 people are booking a flight every day.

The minister gave the House updates on the airline’s operations, saying good progress has been made with a number of sectors within KM Malta Airlines.

Caruana stated interviews with pilots have been concluded, and the contracts are being signed. Cabin crew interviews have also been concluded, and working conditions talks have been concluded.

The minister said a call for applications for engineers and technicians will be issued shortly, as working conditions have been agreed upon with the relevant union.

He said progress has been registered in the transfer of aircrafts, hangars and landing slots, as well as code-sharing agreements. A code-sharing agreement was reached with German carrier Lufthansa.

The minister said that while work remains to be done, airline chairman David Curmi and his team are focused on ensuring everything would be ready in time.

Caruana also slammed previous administrations who he said considered everything but the profit motive.

“The European Union had given Malta another chance to have its national airline, and this must not be lost,” the minister concluded.