PN reiterates commitment to try to save Air Malta

Not all was lost for Air Malta and everyone should pull together to ensure that the country retain a national airline, the opposition leader said on Friday. 

Simon Busuttil called for a meeting with representatives of the constituted bodies to reiterate the Nationalist Party's commitment to see that Air Malta remain the country's national airline.

"For more than a year we have been putting forward a number of recommendations that reflect the wishes of the constituted bodies," he said. "Primarily we have been calling for the government to allow local investment in its plans to save the company."

Busuttil said that, over the last four years, there had been a total lack of information on Air Malta from the government and the company itself, so much so that the financial statements for 2015 were yet to be published. 

"These four years have been time wasted for the company, especially the negotiations with Alitalia," Busuttil said. "Everyone was aware of the Italian airline's own financial troubles and everyone heard Alitalia's chairman say they would not invest €1 in Air Malta."

The PN, he said, stood ready to support any proposal put forward by the constituted bodies that could help save Air Malta.