Air Malta appoints new CEO

Air Malta has appointed Clifford Chetcuti, a former airline pilot who worked in aviation for over three decades, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

The airline said in a statement that Chetcuti’s post would become effective on 1 September, when he will be replacing Joseph Galea, who has been acting CEO since 2016.

Clifford Chetcuti started his career in aviation as a cadet pilot with Air Malta in 1987. He completed his training at Air Service Training in Perth Scotland where he was the recipient of the Principals Award as Pilot of the Year 1988.

He then joined Emirates in 1994 and was promoted to captain in 1999, where his career path saw him progress through various managerial roles within the company. Chetcuti was a captain on the Emirates inaugural A380 flight from Dubai to New York in August 2008.

He left Emirates in 2016 to join Qatar Airways initially as a consultant on organisational and operational aspects of the Flight Training Department. Subsequently he was appointed Vice President Flight Training and Head of the Approved Training Organisation managing more than 4,000 pilots as the Nominated Person for Flight Training.

He was the Director of the Deployed Response Group responsible for the overall management of the Incident Management Centre for Qatar Airways and Member of the Qatar Airways Group Safety and Security Committee.

Chetcuti will be using his expertise to focus on the improvement of efficiencies in Air Malta’s organisational structure and its brand imagine, the national carrier said, highlighting that this would “ensure it was prepared to become the airline of the Mediterranean”.

“Chetcuti has vast experience in the aviation industry particularly in-flight operations, training and aviation practices. During his experience abroad, he was instrumental to develop successfully operational areas with Emirates and Qatar Airways,” it highlighted.

“Clifford’s strength is his influencing leadership style that empowers his team to deliver results. His broad experience in management of change focuses on establishing sound processes which deliver pragmatic and efficient organisational outcomes,” it said.

The former pilot flew the Boeing 737, Airbus A300, A310, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 and has more than 15,000 hours of flying experience gaining a vast understanding of the Airbus systems and philosophies.

Regarding Galea's future undertakings, Air Malta said his CEO contract ends in August and that "he had informed the airline that he has decided to branch into tourism consultancy taking advantage of his 30 years experience in international tourism marketing".