Joseph N Tabone, former chairman of Air Malta and Bank of Valletta, has died at the age of 92. 

His passing was announced by John Saliba, who worked closely with him at the marketing departments of BOV and Air Malta.

Joe N Tabone is best known for his chairmanship of BOV and Air Malta.

Tabone, an accountant by profession, worked as a manager within the Rediffusion group in the late 1960s and later set up his own accountancy firm.

He went on to become chairman of Bank of Valletta in 1987, launching the privatisation of the bank.

He moved to Air Malta in 1992 and is well remembered for his controversial decision to buy seven regional jet aircraft, Avro RJ 70s, his thinking being that the airline could branch out into new Mediterranean destinations which could be kept going even during the winter. Tabone also led Air Malta in setting up an ill-fated subsidiary airline, AzzurAir. 

On leaving the airline in 1996 he set up his own company, Citadal Insurance plc.

Tabone was president of the Chamber of Commerce between 1985 and 1990. He also served as president of the Malta Institute of Accountants and as a council member of the Federation of Industries.

Tabone "infected me with his own disease when we were still at  Rediffusion,  that work has to be done and done well, to the best of our abilities, and to always be ready for hard work," Saliba wrote.