OPM confirms election flights will be kept despite Air Malta restructuring
Subsidies for cheap flights during elections will be paid to national airline, over fears of restructuring cut-backs.
The Office of the Prime Minister has confirmed that past arrangements held during elections and referenda will be maintained whenever the nation decides to go to the polls.
The comments are in stark contrast to what Air Malta chairman Louis Farrugia had warned shortly after announcing the airline's financial results this year. Under a cloud of a €33.9 million operating loss, Farrugia said that any request for cheap tickets or additional flights would "severely impact further on the company losses" and that the national carrier "cannot afford it".
But it is a norm that during elections Air Malta issues reduced fare tickets as an incentive for Maltese living abroad to take part in the polls. And they attract thousands to the island: some 3,057 came during the 2008 general elections, while the less popular MEP elections attracted 1,377 voters.
"A Nationalist-led government believes in accessibility for those temporarily living abroad can vote if they want to. All arrangements used in past elections and referenda still apply," a spokesperson for the OPM said when asked whether the incentives will still be in place, despite Air Malta's restructuring.
A scroll through the parliamentary questions of December 2009 reveals that government had subsidised Air Malta at least twice when it had offered reduced fare tickets at the price of €35 and operated extra flights.
During the 2008 general elections, Air Malta received €1,015,724 in subsidies from government. During the 2009 MEP elections, it received €442,345.
Apart from offering reduced fare tickets, Air Malta also operated extra flights. During the MEP elections, the extra flights had cost government €92,600. The €442,345 also included €251,828 paid to Air Malta to compensate for the loss made by offering tickets at the special price of €35.
Contacted by MaltaToday, Air Malta failed to comment on the subsidy scheme it receives. Despite Farrugia's statement in which he categorically ruled out cheap tickets if snap elections are held, the national airline's spokesman said that "it is a government decision whether to offer reduced fare tickets during elections."
And reassuringly, the OPM reiterates that it's the exchequer that makes up for Air Malta's losses: "Air Malta didn't incur any additional costs as government covers the income lost between the normal flight costs and the discounted price."