The government will be launching the new airline replacing Air Malta on Monday at the end of marathon and often turbulent discussions with the European Commission.

Sources close to the airline said the changes to Air Malta will appear “almost seamless” for passengers, with no disruption to flight schedules, the retention of the same number of aircraft and with the airline name remaining unchanged. The current workforce is expected to be retained, though the staff would be expected to go through a process to be integrated into the new airline.

Details are to be given during a news conference by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana on Monday.

Months-long discussions with the EU came to an end in the last weeks with Brussels turning down the government’s request for an injection of State aid into the long-struggling national airline. Under EU rules, member States must seek approval from the European Commission before giving financial assistance. 

Two years ago, Malta asked Brussels for permission to pump €290 million into the airline in a last-ditch attempt to save it, proposing a five-year State aid financing plan intended to help turn the company into a sustainable, profit-making enterprise.

The company will be called KM Malta Airlines plc, with changes expected to Air Malta’s aircraft livery. Changes are also expected to the frequent flyer programme

But Air Malta chairman David Curmi recently said the commission preferred Malta to emulate the model used by Italy, which reached an agreement with Brussels to close down its flag carrier, Alitalia and open a new national airline which it called ITA.

The company will be called KM Malta Airlines plc, with changes expected to Air Malta’s aircraft livery. Changes are also expected to the frequent flyer programme.

Discussions with the trade unions are believed to also be nearing a conclusion, with sources saying there is “positive feedback” about the way forward, though details are still sketchy.

The pilots’ union had a meeting with the government towards the end of August where the new working conditions were explained.

The airline had been suffering losses which were made exponentially worse when the pandemic brought most air travel to a halt. In 2021, Caruana had said the national air carrier was making losses of over €170,000 daily just to operate its aircraft.

Details about the economic model of the new airline are expected to be given on Monday.

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