Air Malta chief on threat to survival

Air Malta would be unable to survive unassisted if the government offered subsidies on certain routes, its chairman Lawrence Zammit has warned.

In a frank interview with The Times, Mr Zammit said: "If people expect subsidies for more routes, that will have such a significant negative impact on Air Malta which means either that it will have to be supported or it will not be able to survive. That's the long and the short of it."

Mr Zammit said that competing with low-cost airlines operating from London Luton - which he says was a condition made by Ryanair and Easyjet in order to operate other routes - was going to be a "major challenge" and he challenged them to "put their money where their mouth is" and fly to more difficult destinations, like Spain.

Mr Zammit also insists that statements being made about the dangerous predicament of the airline, which made a Lm4.8 million operating loss last year despite cutting almost Lm10 million in costs, are not an attempt to attract sympathy.