Consumers' Union objects to MIA fee, higher postal rates

Maltapost and Malta International Airport yesterday defended their recent price hikes shortly after the Consumers' Union asked the consumers and competition division director general to investigate the new higher charges.

Last month, MIA announced plans to impose a new fee on departing passengers from April 1, to recoup the costs of new security measures, and Maltapost announced a 1c increase in postage rates from this week which it said it was doing to cover rising costs.

But the Consumers' Union protested at the new tariffs, and said the 1 cent increase in postage was not justified especially since the level of service had not improved.

On the contrary, the Maltapost service had taken a turn for the worse since its recent privatisation, the union claimed.

"The consumer should get the best service at the lowest price. With privatisation, efficiency should improve. And if efficiency increases, prices should go down and not up."

The union said that the 55 cents charge would translate into an additional Lm800,000 revenue for MIA.

"We believe that if there was an increase in security at the airport, it would not have cost MIA this much per year."

The Consumers' Union said it had asked the director general to investigate the matter since both MIA and Maltapost were benefitting from a monopoly.

The Maltapost increase, the first since 1997, came into effect this week.

Maltapost chief executive officer Robert Lake said costs were rising and the company had to invest in order to be able to offer new products and services.

Traditional postal products were under threat and new avenues had to be explored, he said.

Mr Lake said Maltapost's standard letter rate was one of the cheapest in the world and raising it by one cent would not change that.

MIA will be introducing a 55c fee, which will come into force on April 1 next year.

A spokesman for the airline said the airport had implemented certain security measures to come in line with European and US certification requirements.

Following the Lockerbie bombing, which was linked to an unaccompanied piece of luggage being put on the plane at Frankfurt, the government and other European countries had made a commitment to introduce 100 per cent screening of the luggage carried in an aeroplane's hold.

The spokesman said the measure was implemented in Malta a year ago and required the deployment of more staff and equipment.

Security had also been beefed up with the installation of a new 14-kilometre airport perimeter fence, the upgrading of the CCTV security system, and the purchase of three new fire tenders, a spokesman said.

He said the MIA had submitted a request to the government to impose the new fee more than two years ago.