EC representatives to discuss tourism action plan in Malta

During a meeting held between the vice-president of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani, and Labour MEP Joseph Cuschieri, Tajani said that the representatives of the EC will be coming to Malta over the summer.

Tajani said this meeting would form part of the Commission's action plan on tourism.

Cuschieri told Tajani that Air Malta was crucial for the generation of economy, having always been a "success story until recently".

"Air Malta should be saved at all costs. It shouldn't be privatized or sold," Cuschieri said, while insisting on the importance which should be given to tourism in Europe, especially to islands such as Malta.

The restructuring of Air Malta commenced in November 2010, and with increasing pace, the airline has now put in place the foundations for its recovery.

Key restructuring milestones since November 2010 have included the: appointment of a new management team with specific airline turnaround experience; preparation and lodgement of a Restructuring Plan with the European Commission; sale of property assets; a financing plan with the government and the banks; union agreement to change work practices and redundancies of 500 employees; disposal of loss-making operations; and over 160 internal projects.

The airline has also moved ahead with the voluntary redundancy schemes while filling key vacant posts in the new organisational structure.

Critically, Air Malta is embarking on a cultural transformation and business re-engineering process to reposition the airline and change it into a modern carrier able to successfully compete in the evolving aviation business. Overall, the restructuring process is aiming to increase the airline's revenue by €30 million and decrease costs by the same amount; this to allow to return to profitability by 2015.

Cuschieri also praised the EU's pilot project to encourage tourism between Europe and South America during low season, and expressed his support for a more efficient system for the issuing of visas to Russian and Chinese tourists.