Government, Ryanair confident of speedy EU approval

Government and Ryanair officials are confident that before the next month is out, Brussels will grant the airline the green light to fly to Malta.

The European Commission has only just received official notification of the scheme under which the low-fare carrier is to operate.

Under a financial support scheme that was open to all European airlines, Ryanair will start flights to and from Malta on three routes at the end of October, with booking having opened last week.

A government-appointed committee approved the airline's proposal yesterday week, along with that of EasyJet, and the notification was submitted last Friday, a Tourism Ministry official said.

Officials from the Tourism Ministry and Ryanair said they were fully confident that the EU will grant permission very soon.

"We have been talking officially to the European Commission since the inception of this scheme and we strictly followed the EU guidelines. I see no reason why Brussels should take a lot of time to clear this file and we are confident that this will be done in the coming days," a senior official from the Tourism Ministry said.

Asked whether Ryanair had jumped the gun by starting to sell its flights before official EU permission for the scheme has been granted, a local spokesman for Ryanair echoed the tourism official's view.

"Malta is not the first country we are flying to and thus we know exactly what we are doing," the spokesman said.

According to EU state aid rules, such schemes have to be in line with its strict guidelines on financing of airports and start-up aid to airlines departing from regional airports.

Commission sources said the notification will be sent to its state aid unit to be examined in the light of these guidelines.

"It will only be at the end of this process that the Commission will be in a position to give its clearance or otherwise. In some similar cases we have asked governments to modify the schemes."

Asked how long this process normally takes to complete, the sources said that this depended on various issues, including the need to submit all details correctly.

"As you are aware the Commission is another bureaucratic organisation and thus we can't really say that the process will be over in weeks.

"It could even take months before we make sure that the scheme satisfies all the requirements."

The scheme is offering financial aid for start-up costs, specific route marketing and promotion of the route but will not finance recurring operating costs such as aircraft rental or depreciation, fuel, ground handling expenses, crew salaries or catering service costs.

The amount granted to an airline shall be calculated per passenger embarking from the non-Malta airport and landing directly in Malta.