Air Malta will be deciding which flights to cancel based on ongoing demand for its routes, with no fixed plans about how to restrict capacity following a COVID-induced downturn.
The national airline said earlier this week that it would be reducing the frequency of some of its flights in January and February, as a rapid rise in COVID case numbers saw a dramatic decrease in flight bookings.
It did not say, however, which flights would be affected.
A spokesperson for the company told Times of Malta that all 15 routes on the airline’s winter network will be impacted by cancellations.
“All routes and their associated flights over the forthcoming two-to-eight-week period are being reviewed regularly each week to monitor the level of booking activity taking place and whether or not any frequency consolidation is required,” the spokesperson said.
“Air Malta does not cancel any planned flights within 14 days of departure.”
He added that, while low demand was common during winter, the company had seen 4,000 booked seats cancelled by customers who were travelling in December.
“This highlights the high degree of nervousness and lack of confidence many customers had in carrying through with their already booked travel plans as the COVID Omicron situation worsened during last month,” he said.
Customers whose flights are impacted by changes will be contacted by the airline and be given the option to make free changes to booked flight arrangements, postpone their travel dates or receive a full refund.
“Air Malta would like to thank its customers for their patience, understanding and continued support during these difficult times,” he said.
“Through these changes, the airline is committed to remaining an all-year-round vital link to main European cities not only for travel and tourism but also for the transportation of vital medical cargo, mail and other import and export freight required for various industries.”
In December, some 480 flights to and from Malta were cancelled as people lost confidence in international travel with the resurgence of the Omicron variant.
Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg previously told Times of Malta that the first quarter of 2022 was not looking good for air travel.
“The hotchpotch of uncoordinated travel restrictions across Europe is confusing passengers and destroying consumer confidence in air travel, leaving airports and airlines to bear the brunt of hasty, haphazard decisions,” he said.