Air Malta said yesterday that its rebuttal of Ryanair's comments were vindicated this week when the Irish airline announced that this winter it will be cutting weekly flights at Dublin by 12 per cent and would also stop some services at Stansted in the UK due to the rising cost of fuel.

The Irish airline said that it expects to ground just over 10 per cent of its fleet next winter. Moreover, redundancies are expected in the company according to press reports in Ireland, even though it had stated earlier on that there would be no redundancies, Air Malta said.

In his reply, Ryanair's deputy chief executive officer Michael Cawley confirmed that the Irish airline was completely off mark when it said that Air Malta is 227 per cent more expensive than the Irish airline.

"He made a second attempt and got it wrong again," the national airline said.

"Without ever resorting to subsidies over the last years Air Malta has competed with far larger airlines and continued to provide a valuable link between the island and various destinations, thereby contributing to the island's tourism sector we know today.

"Air Malta customers are now benefiting from lower prices following a diligent restructuring process undertaken by the airline over the last five years, which included initiatives such as cost reduction, investment in IT systems and enhanced productivity, among others. Air Malta customers are increasing in number and the airline intends to continue offering them a fairly-priced quality service," it said.

Air Malta said that over the years it has brought to Malta 35 million passengers from a host of destinations.

"Many airlines have come and gone and more will follow. On the other hand, Air Malta operates a number of routes even though it does not cover all the indirect costs simply to support the Maltese tourism sector. Air Malta will remain committed to the Maltese society and its tourism industry for the years to come," it said.