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WATCH | Tonio Fenech on Air Malta: 'Participation from other airlines or private investors must be considered in future'
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech says participation of other airlines or private investors in Air Malta's future cannot be excluded.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech interviewed by Saviour Balzan
Tonio Fenech was answering to claims by Air Malta management that its financial losses today were foreseeable back in 2006 when government wanted to bring low-cost carriers to Malta.
"The reality is not limited to whether LCCs land in Malta or not. LCCs are affecting legacy carriers all over Europe, and many airlines have folded or sold.
"Air Malta is not the first airline that needs permission from the European Commission to get capital aid for a restructuring programme. We need this programme to sustain the national airline... but it must be efficient and retain its niche in the wider European market."
Fenech said it was important that the government retains a majority stake-holding in the airline due to to its strategic importance. "But if there will be some form of direct or indirect participation from another airline or private investors, that is something we must consider in future, even to have a level of governance that assures efficiency levels found in the private sector."
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Michael001 we have to do whatever is necessary to save Air Malta. It is not only Air Malta employees but the whole tourism sector which will collapse more than it already has if Air Malta is destroyed. It has always been the EU plan to destroy all national airlines and first replace them with cheapos and after some time will strangle the cheapos to have one single EU airline. Pray tell me what cheapo will remove seats to transport patients on stretchers or infants in incubators? NO other airline will do it Michael001. Yes, we must do whatever is necessary to save Air Malta and to hell with what the EU says.
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FATTA! L-oraklu tkellem. Id-decizjoni saret!! Mhux ahjar li kieku minflok "il-privat" u "l-inji tal-ajru" ohra, il-gvern jikkunsidra investiment mill-poplu. Mhux privatizzazzjoni, imma popolarizzazzjoni kien jghajjat De Puis!! Tiftakruha? Jiddispjacini hafna ghall-haddiema imma " minn semmnu se joqtlu lill hanzir"! Prosit Gonzipn ghax irrnexxilek iggib lill Air Malta GHASFUR TAC-COMB MA' JTIRX.
Alfred Galea •
.....proposals were gonna cost the taxpayers.
Aleo, don't put too much faith in the EU Commission, after all they're the ones to let the French get away with massive subdidies to the French farmers.
Alfred Galea •
Fixxa, ask RedMustang Bondi about the budget, he should know, like he knew how much JM
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How come we did not hear anything about the demise of Air Malta during the budget? Does it mean we have to add the 150 million loss+ the others to the deficit? How can the PN ministers continue showing that stupid smile? They should go and hide in some very remote and dark hole in Timbuktu!
duncan abela •
Let us hope that Government is not throwing good taxpayer money after bad in covering the scandalous losses of AirMalta. I have very little confidence that the decision taken will be based purely on solid business or economic reasoning and is more likely to be based on the political consideration of a looming general election in two years time . In these circumstances I can only hope that the EU commission will take a good hard look at the proposed cash injection and make sure that it backs up a realistic and viiable restructuring plan. In these times of global austerity the last thing one wants is to see money being pumped into an unsatiable big black hole. Unfortunately given our political immaturity we need to be protected by outsiders from taking irrational action which will execerbate our nation's debt position.
Alfred Galea •
["But if there will be some form of direct or indirect participation from another airline or private investors]
Goodbye KM hello Lufthansa.......and the usual sponsors of MP's vacations/football getaways.
Michael, IF the PN had the balls to downsize/close up the dockyard BEFORE the EU made them do it, like about ten/fifteen years ago there wouldn't have been such a bog loss, BUT then those who got rich from the dockyard would'nt have and so no donations would've been forthcoming.
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Michaeloo1 note Results should be the thermometer of success. Dockyard failed. Management of the dockyard failed....Air Malta failing. Management of Air Malta failing....Who is the management...PN in government....Examiners are the Maltese citizens...Payments by Maltese citizens.... Marks equals votes in the next general election.
Helenio Galea •
We've just about had enough of the usual bidders for ex-state owned concerns. Who do we expect from private enterprise to bid? Surprise surprise ... The asset bases of the rich are getting bigger and employees getting poorer.
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@Michael: Are you serious? Your "hard earned money" is in a bubble of incompetence, and wrecklessness and theft; its called 4.5 billion of debt.....that is where your money is! And Tonio's words says it all....it was part of a plan to bring Air Malta to its knees...so much for the left within the PN the so called Peter Serrracino Inglott "left" factor, and, goodbye to all that, what the AD calls the "left" though , their left could be anything from right to extreme right, judging by AD member's write, that is, that they admire Fini!
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QUOTE:Fenech said it was important that the government retains a majority stake-holding in the airline due to to its strategic importance. "But if there will be some form of direct or indirect participation from another airline or private investors, that is something we must consider in future, even to have a level of governance that assures efficiency levels found in the private sector."
COMMENT: Who the hell is he kidding?
This DORK must think that the Maltese I.Q can be controlled by media manipulation.Or maybe he intends to bring back AZZURRAIR and amalgamate it with AIRMALTA.
Here a snotty Minister who cannot even pay he own bills telling us how he is spending the 100 million euros, the government must borrow.
Ara very sar gvern minghajr boxxla.
Albert Zammit •
At Truth: So what do you want? Saving Air Malta through our hard-earned taxes???? Having a similar Dockyard? Sorry: I disagree.
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Disregard the European Commission and tell them to go to hell. We cannot end up with everything we had built over the years destroyed because it has so been ordered by the European Commission. If they don't like it they can shove it up their **** and do us a favour and kick us out.
