Untapped potential seen at Malta airport

A top-level delegation from Vienna International Airport yesterday started a working visit in Malta.

Vienna airport is a majority shareholder in a consortium, Malta Mediterranean Link, which has bought a 40 per cent stake in Malta International Airport.

The other partners in the company are SNC-Lavalin, a Canadian company, and Airports Investments Limited, an associate company of the Bianchi Group.

The visit by the Austrian airport delegation coincides with the scheduled issue, by the government, of a further 20 per cent of its shareholding in MIA.

The director of Vienna International Airport Herbert Kaufmann said there was untapped potential at MIA, which the company wanted to exploit together with its Maltese partners.

Mr Kaufmann spoke of the importance of Malta joining the European Union for the strengthening of MIA. He said he believed EU membership would bring about an increase in the volume of passengers and cargo handled by MIA.

"The same happened in Austria when it joined the EU in 1995. Since we became members of the EU, we have experienced a significant growth in traffic and became a hub for traffic to eastern European countries. EU membership has had a huge effect on the development of Vienna International Airport. I am sure similar trends will be seen here when Malta joins the EU."

The Vienna International Airport delegation is today expected to hold talks with the government, including Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami.

Mr Kaufmann said he was delighted by the stake in MIA. "We see a lot of untapped potential here especially since there is a very strong tourism industry in Malta."

The long-term objective, Mr Kaufmann said, was to develop MIA into a hub for Northern Africa and the Mediterranean region, "in the same way we have managed to position ourselves in Austria as the hub for eastern Europe."

The delegation is made up of members of the Vienna airport' supervisory board and senior management of Vienna International Airport.

The delegation is headed by Mr Johannes Coreth, chairman of the supervisory board, and Mr Kaufmann.

Other members are Dr Kurt Waniek, director and deputy chairman of MIA plc, and Gerhard Schmid, member of the management board.

Fifteen journalists representing the major daily newspapers in Austria, leading magazines and journals specialising in economic affairs and the travel industry, and the Austrian TV, are accompanying the delegation.