Online poll shows big support for low-cost airlines

The vast majority of respondents to an online poll by The Times believe that low-cost airlines would make a crucial or significant contribution to tourism.

More than half the respondents - 51.76 per cent - said low-cost airlines would make a crucial contribution to tourism and 37.8 per cent deemed the contribution to be significant.

The rest, 10.41 per cent of respondents, thought the contribution would be insignificant.

A number of respondents said that for low-cost airlines to be viable it was necessary to drastically reduce taxes.

Others noted that low-cost flights will allow tourists to have more money in their pocket to spend while on holiday.

Low-cost airlines will also allow more tourists to go on short holidays and weekend breaks because the price of the flight is not very high.

One respondent said Malta has become like a prison because it is very expensive to travel. Another said the Maltese are being deprived from their freedom of movement through the lack of low-cost airlines and high taxes.

"If a Maltese person has to fork out Lm55 in taxes along with the price of the ticket, low-cost airlines will have little effect," a respondent said. "We can no longer be held hostage by the national airline," another commented, adding that people do not travel to Malta because low-cost airlines were taking them to other countries.

Another said: "Malta simply cannot afford to stay out of the budget airline network".

One respondent said a British newspaper recently reported that Eastern European countries which had allowed low-cost airlines had seen a 50 per cent increase in tourism.

"Low-cost does not mean low quality tourists, and the weekend break market is full of well-off people who want to spend more on the hotel and the destination than the trip. Malta will gain far more by letting these airlines operate than it would lose by reducing airport landing fees."

Respondents who said they had visited Malta or were Maltese nationals living abroad said they would come more often if low-cost fares were available.

On the other hand, some respondents said the arrival of low-cost airlines would spell trouble for Air Malta. "Air Malta will have to become a low-cost airline or go out of existence," a respondent said.

Another said tourists arriving on low-cost airlines would not boost tourism since those travelling on such airlines do not want to spend money.