PN hits out at Air Malta’s decision to stop Frankfurt route

The Nationalist Party has described as “worrying” the announcement that Air Malta will stop flying to Frankfurt as of March.

“Frankfurt is a main European hub and an important source for tour operators, particularly those who operate in the German marker,” PN MPs Claudio Grech and Antoine Borg said in a joint statement. “There is a great demand for this route, and instead of stopping it, the government should have increased its carrying capacity.”

The Opposition MPs warned that the cancellation of the Frankfurt route was the result of Air Malta’s decision to downsize its fleet, which they said has placed “severe limitations’ on the national airline’s operations.

As of March, Air Malta will operate a new schedule that will see it axe its routes to and from Frankfurt and Athens, and reduce its flights to London Gatwick, Berlin, Manchester, Geneva. Conversely, it will increase its frequencies to Munich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, and Zurich.

Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis accused the Opposition of trying to score political points out of “an airline’s commercial decisions”.

“Air Malta’s management and board of directors are taking decisions that are necessary in such a competitive market so as to keep the airline afloat,” he said. “Under the previous PN administration, Air Malta implemented a restructuring plan that led to it axing several lucrative routes, creating a void that other airlines eventually filled.”