Airport shops recently organised a series of seminars to train their staff at the Malta International Airport (MIA) departure lounge on how to recognise counterfeit money and deal with the problem.

Airport shops form an Airport Tax Free Association (ATFA) which was set up soon after the inauguration of the airport terminal.

The initiative was co-ordinated by Lino Debono and Marthese Spiteri Gonzi on behalf of ATFA in co-operation with the Central Bank of Malta (CBM) and with the MIA. The seminars were conducted by officials from the Currency Issues Office of the Central Bank of Malta. Four training sessions were held.

Salespersons and staff from airport shops were shown video clips of situations where cashiers come in contact with potentially counterfeit notes. They were also given practical instructions on how to identify counterfeit currency notes. The sessions, held in August at MIA, were attended by 86 sales staff.

Commenting on this initiative, ATFA chairman Dr Simon Busuttil, said that ATFA was committed to ensure that travellers choosing to make purchases from airport shops benefit from a pleasant environment and a service of the highest quality. At the same time, airport shops needed to be protected from abuses arising from the possible use of counterfeit notes.