€60.8 million were spent last year on Air Malta early retirement and voluntary redundancy schemes, benefiting 351 workers, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said in parliament.

Replying to a question by Nationalist MP Ivan Castillo, the minister said the total outlay was €60,836,332.44.

Last March the minister had said in parliament that 204 of the workers worked in office administration and management, 137 were ‘industrial’ workers and 10 were engineers.

Over the previous months the airline shed a record number of workers in a last-minute attempt to cut costs as the government asked the European Commission to authorise state funding of the airline.  

The workers who opted for an early or voluntary retirement scheme were offered sums of between €40,000 and €300,000.

Air Malta staff aged 50 and over were eligible to the early retirement scheme if they had served 20 years and over, to be paid two-thirds of their total take-home pay, capped at a maximum €300,000.

Earlier this week Times of Malta quoted Air Malta chairman David Curmi saying Air Malta would be closed by the end of the year and replaced by another airline in a 'seamless' transition.

Caruana later said talks with the European Commission were continuing, with another meeting due in a fortnight.

The Opposition blamed the government for failing to save the airline despite the EU having approved a restructuring plan in 2012. Castillo expressed concern about the remaining workers who could be laid off.