Airline 'protective policies a joke'

Ryanair has branded the Maltese air authorities' "protective" policies as a "joke" though the low-cost airline admitted it is contemplating operating from Malta to Girona in Spain.

Europe's largest budget airline believes that every single route operating to Malta is underserved and, contrary to claims, nowhere near saturation point.

"Your airport authorities are misleading people. Malta will simply not increase the number of tourists because its fees are not competitive," Ryanair chief operating officer Michael Cawley told The Times.

Last week, Malta International Airport indicated Madrid, Barcelona and Girona in Spain and Lisbon in Portugal as "appropriate points" from which to increase the number of tourists visiting Malta.

MIA said it was inviting interested airlines from EU member states to operate on certain routes that had been identified as being underserved, while abiding by specific conditions in return for attractive prices on airport fees and charges.

Of the four earmarked destinations, Ryanair currently flies only to Girona, Mr Cawley said.

"We are working on the possible introduction of the Girona route but the routes offered are anything but ideal for Ryanair."

He accused the Maltese air authorities of behaving as though they were still living in the 1960s and said they had failed to take on board the open skies phenomenon that was revolutionising air travel.

It was evident, he said, that MIA and the government were doing their utmost to protect existing airlines.

Mr Cawley claimed Ryanair would guarantee to double the number of passengers from London and he also stood by his airline's claims that it could fly an additional one million passengers to Malta if the airport charges allow it to serve all destinations.

He said one had only to take a look at the passenger turnaround across Europe to realise the impact of low-cost airlines.

For several years there were just one million passengers flying between Dublin and London. Once Ryanair came on route, this figure climbed to 4.7 million, he said.

Likewise, the London - Stockholm route increased from 800,000 to 1.8 million passengers a year.

Ryanair last week reported record first-quarter results, despite absorbing fuel surcharges levied by rival carriers.

Mr Cawley said Malta needed to slash its air costs by 75 per cent to make it competitive with other airports. At existing rates, each passenger flying to Malta would cost between €15 and €17 more in comparison to other destinations, he added.

"We have just bought a €60 million aircraft, we have to absorb fuel prices at €65 per barrel cost - and we are expected to pay 55 per cent of our revenue to Malta."

Asked whether Ryanair was effectively giving up on ever starting a comprehensive service to Malta, Mr Cawley replied: "Not at all. People at the helm change, governments change."

When contacted, a spokesman for MIA reiterated the company's line of defence.

MIA is not convinced that one has to embrace low-cost airlines for the country to prosper. In fact, it said, the number of airlines operating to Malta had increased considerably.

Contrary to Mr Cawley's claims, MIA said the tariffs for a typical aircraft of 189 seats was up to 25 per cent more expensive at Heathrow.

"It is worth noting that all MIA tariffs are regulated by the airport charges regulatory board of which the airlines and the Department of Civil Aviation are members," the spokesman said.