Air Malta must ‘retain point-to-point’ routes, PN urges government

The Nationalist Party has called on the government to retain Air Malta’s point-to-point routes and to ensure that decisions on route changes are only taken by the government.

In a statement, PN MPs Claudio Grech, Antoine Borg and Censu Galea also called on government to share the business plan proposed by Alitalia with the workers’ representatives.

“The main stakeholders should have a clear picture of the situation. This will help all involved parties reach the common goal of safeguarding Air Malta’s future. It is vital for unions to have access to the business plan, which paves out the future of the airline,” the MPs said.

The Nationalist Party argued that this would also help to put to rest any speculation there may be on the workers’ future.

The MPs argued that the discussions should be held with the four unions together in order to allow greater sectorial convergence. the workers, they added, are employed by one single entity and all sectors should be aware of the ongoing negotiations.

The PN will keep on putting forward its proposals and ideas on the matter: “Whilst we are not against introducing a strategic partner, Alitalia should not receive half of the airline’s shares without giving any substantial contribution to the airline’s capital.”

The PN said that it would prefer if Air Malta’s capital base were to be pushed by domestic investment.

Earlier this week, MaltaToday reported that the government is considering postponing the downsizing of Air Malta to after the general election to mitigate any political fall-out from the deal which will see the carrier team up with Alitalia.