The government should “waste no more time” in updating travel rules tied to the vaccine certificate, which go against EU rules, Malta International Airport (MIA) said.
Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Tuesday evening that the vaccine certificate will, from February, no longer be required for entry into establishments.
But while this applies to restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas and other venues, the rules for travel will remain unchanged.
This means that anyone travelling to Malta must have taken a second vaccine dose no longer than three months earlier, which goes against the nine-month expiry rule set by the European Commission.
A spokesperson for MIA said that while “welcoming the government’s decision to start easing restrictions”, the authorities need to also imminently address the travel rules currently in place.
“We believe that the local authorities should waste no more time in aligning the country’s travel requirements to the European Union’s recommendations for travel.
“This would put Malta on a par with competitor destinations when it comes to entry requirements while giving the industry the support it needs to start a meaningful and uninterrupted journey of recovery,” the spokesperson said.
The airport had already complained that Malta is the only EU country not adhering to the EU digital COVID certificate and has blamed ever-changing travel rules for the country’s poor recovery rate in travel.
The spokesperson said the airport was in talks with the government about what it “would like to see in Malta’s COVID-19 exit strategy in relation to travel and the tourism industry”.
Meanwhile, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) has welcomed the easing of the requirement for vaccination certificates to be presented for entry to venues.
Association president Tony Zahra said that the lifting of the latest COVID measures will see an end to the hardship seen by the sector.
He regretted that some restaurants had lost staff, who moved on to jobs which did not require mandatory vaccination, but promised the association’s readiness to maintain dialogue with the government.
The Nationalist Party criticised the government for keeping in place COVID-19 restrictions for attendance to sports and most cultural and entertainment events while lifting them for other sectors.
Vaccination certificates will not be needed for entry into restaurants, snack bars and social clubs from February 7.
From February 14, certificates will not be needed for entry to bars, gyms, spas, pools, cinemas and theatres.
The Nationalist Party observed that the government had ignored cultural events other than theatre and it also omitted sports events and the entertainment industry.
Shadow minister Karl Gouder said this amounted to discrimination by the Abela government and was a blow to hundreds of people who were employed in those sectors or devoted much of their time to them.
The party appealed to the government to stop discriminating against these sectors.