PN’s plan for Air Malta? Hope it’s better than the first one, says Zammit Lewis

Just hours after Simon Busuttil announced that the Opposition will propose a plan to avoid Air Malta from “being sold to foreigners,” tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis has weighed in on the debate and quipped that he hopes that the plan would be better than the proposal to turn Air Malta into a publicly traded company.

On Sunday, the PN leader insisted that the sale of a 49% stake in Malta’s ailing airline to Alitalia was not the only solution, and that the Opposition would be proposing a “detailed” alternative in the coming days. The news was “welcomed” by tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis, albeit it being met with a sardonic condition.

Looking forward 2 @SimonBusuttil 2nd plan 4 @AirMalta in 3 months. Hope it's better than his 1st one which was rubbished by professionals

— Zammit-Lewis Edward (@ZammitLewisEdw) September 4, 2016

Indeed, in a tweet, the minister quipped that he hoped that the PN’s new plan would be better than Busuttil’s suggestion for Air Malta to be turned into a public traded company, listed on the Malta Stock Exchange – a proposal which the minister was “rubbished by professionals.”

Under the previous plan the PN leader had proposed that Air Malta would offer its shares to the public so the national airline remains under Maltese control. However, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had quickly moved to pour cold water over the suggestion, questioning whether Busuttil had sought any expert advice.

The expert advice was subsequently forthcoming, but much to the disdain of the Opposition and Simon Busuttil, it was not positive. Rather, a reputable law firm which had been commissioned by the government to undertake an analysis of the suggestion, said it would “make little, if any, sense for an investor to place any money in such a company.”

The company had also concluded that Air Malta would not qualify for listing in terms of the Listing Rules of the Malta Stock Exchange, and given the airline’s negative equity, there was no compelling reason for anyone to invest any money in the company.

Under the plan agreed by the government – the main shareholder in Air Malta – Alitalia, the Italian national airline, will take a 49% stake. Alitalia forms part of the satellite of airlines owned by Abu Dhabi based airline Etihad Airways, which has been in advanced talks with government over an equity investment in the ailing Air Malta since November 2015 as revealed by MaltaToday.

The government and Alitalia have since signed a memorandum of understanding while Air Malta continues to thrash out an agreement with the Italian airline.

Air Malta has been undergoing a restructuring process costing some €230 million ever since it was granted the green light for state aid under strict European Commission rules. However, the airline recently admitted to still having about €66 million in outstanding debts.