Air Malta chief executive Joe Cappello on forced leave

Company chief executive officer has been told to take 'sick leave' from Air Malta after 34 years' service.

Air Malta CEO Joe Cappello is the latest in the list of casualties from the Ernst & Young evaluation at the national airline, MaltaToday has learnt.

Cappello was asked to go out on forced leave, and clearly indicated that his contract would not be renewed. He is away from the island for the time being.

Cappello, who has been with the airline since 1976, was already absent from the government team handling the airline’s restructuring talks with unions when rumours started that he was being cold-shouldered by government.

Cappello kept a low profile and refused to antagonise the situation when he told The Times that his absence was "not strange...The company has to have one spokesman in the talks and most of the issues being dealt with at the moment concern the relationship between the company and its shareholder, which falls in the chairman’s remit."

Cappello is the second chief executive officer in Air Malta’s history, having been appointed in 2006 replacing Swiss Ernst Funk, who had been there for three years. Before 2002, the airline had no chief executive officer as such and the role was vested in the chairman.

Air Malta’s Chief Commercial Officer Brock Freisen has also been relieved of his post and put on long leave as from last night. Formerly of Star Alliance, Brock Freisen was engaged with Air Malta in 2006 and still had a year and a half to go on his present contract.

Former EasyJet executive Robert Palmer has now been appointed Operations Manager after being brought into the company as an associate of Ernst & Young.

Air Malta’s fate has been entirely left into the hands of corporate restructuring experts from UK’s Ernst & Young. The restructuring plan - which is tied to the €50 million emergency loan which was approved by parliament last week - is being compiled by Ernst & Young experts Alan Hudson and Robert Palmer, who are both former executives at EasyJet and British Midlands International (BMI).

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What gratitude, after all these years of loyal service, you get the booth. There is no respect in this world.