Air Malta will not backtrack on its decision to lay off pilots, however, the government does not exclude sitting around a table to discuss the airline’s future, Robert Abela said on Wednesday.
Air Malta has made 69 pilots redundant over the weekend while downgrading a number of other pilots to first officers.
Replying to questions by the media on Wednesday, Abela said the airline had reached an agreement with three unions who “acknowledged the current reality” but had failed to do so with ALPA, the pilots’ union.
The airline will wait for the outcome of an injunction filed on Sunday, the Prime Minister added.
“Nothing is being excluded at this stage. There are various options, however, we need to make sure that as a country we have a competitive airline.”
He added that the government will not backtrack: “a decision was taken, however, we do not exclude sitting around a table if everyone is reasonable.
“The government does not shy away from taking decisions and we will take all the decisions for the airline to become viable or explore alternatives.”
Malta launches aircraft leasing
Abela was speaking following a launch by Transport Malta (TM) of aircraft leasing services.
Aircraft leasing allows airlines to lease aircraft from other airlines, generally for the purpose of increasing the airline’s carrying capacity without committing to the financial burden of purchasing aircraft.
Charles Pace, director-general of the Civil Aviation directorate within TM explained that most operators did not buy their own aircraft but leased planes for some 10 years.
Most planes have two or three leases in their lifetime, and, in between, operators might change aviation registers.
Leasing is the only service within the aviation industry that Malta is not offering so far, meaning that it will now have “a complete aviation ecosystem”, Pace said.
Addressing the same launch, Transport Minister Ian Borg said Malta had so far focused on its aviation register, on which 478 aircraft are currently registered. The country had started looking into aircraft leasing some two years ago, he added.
Abela meanwhile said aircraft leasing, considered an investment in a new niche with high potential, would give the industry a push in its recovery.