Record passenger growth for Air Malta

Air Malta last month registered the highest increase of passengers in its 35-year history, despite cutthroat competition from low-cost airlines and skyrocketing fuel prices.

Malta's national airline carried 40,000 more passengers in May, a 30 per cent increase over the same month last year, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said.

Air Malta has so far also registered an average 14 per cent increase, translating into 60,000 extra passengers, between April and this month.

This success was achieved despite the airline's increased fuel costs: over the last three years it coughed up €30 million (Lm12.88 million) in fuel, with the recent surcharge it introduced covering a mere 15 per cent of the total cost.

Welcoming the positive results, Mr Fenech confirmed the government's plan to lift the departure tax of €23.29 (Lm10) from November 1 and defended the decision not to eliminate it before.

Earlier this month, The Times reported that the European Commission was taking Malta to the European Court of Justice over the island's failure to amend this controversial rule because it discriminated against local passengers. So why had the government not lifted the tax before November?

"We never agreed that the tax infringed on passengers' rights or prohibited Maltese from travelling. If we lift the tax before November we will not meet our deficit targets," he replied.

Mr Fenech added that it neither made sense to remove the tax now and replace it with something else. A proposal to introduce a €5 (Lm2.15) charge on both foreigners and Maltese leaving the island was shot down in favour of keeping the present departure tax until November and then abolishing it once and for all.

Another consideration for retaining this contentious tax until November was to reduce the confusion that would arise halfway through the holiday season, when the prices of packages would have been released.

Mr Fenech was attending the first meeting of Air Malta's new board, under the chairmanship. of Lawrence Zammit, who was confirmed in office.

Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola urged the government to remove the departure tax immediately saying the decision to remove it in November was "absolutely preposterous".

The EU Commission has already declared that this tax is an unjust and discriminatory one, Prof. Cassola said. Moreover, the European Parliament Petitions' Committee is examining five separate complaints on the issue lodged by two Maltese, one Dutchman, an Irishman and the Maltese Travel Agents' Association FATTA in connection with the tax.