The Maltese travelling market is not immune to the precarious situation of Alitalia - whose future is in the balance - and booking cancellations are flying in.

There have been failed attempts to save the Italian carrier from bankruptcy and the pinch is being felt as far afield as Malta, with a local travel agent saying he was experiencing "loads" of cancellations of Alitalia flights due to the "uncertainty" in the air, and request to transfer to Air Malta flights and also changing routes.

Alitalia could lose its operating licence if a special administrator's last-ditch attempt to sell the airline does not present Italy's aviation authority with a convincing new offer or cost-cutting plan by tomorrow. Following the withdrawal of an Italian rescue bid because of opposition by pilots and cabin crew, the government-appointed administrator made a final attempt on Monday to attract offers, although previous bids to find a foreign buyer have failed.

Georges Bonello DuPuis, of Air Tours Services Co. Ltd, said there had been a decline in bookings and customers were calling every day to seek information about the situation.

"Imagine planning a skiing holiday for Christmas; you would not wait for the outcome of the Alitalia saga to buy a ticket," he said.

Mr Bonello DuPuis said travellers to, for example, Bologna via Rome on Alitalia had changed their flights to Milan, planning to catch a train, rent a car or book a flight on another Italian carrier to get to their final destination, rather than risk it. Last weekend, he experienced several similar re-arrangements as reality hits.

Those who have booked flights for, say, November are considering cancelling them, paying the penalty and getting the refund, and re-booking through Air Malta, Mr Bonello DuPuis said. He pointed out, however, that not everyone should be so lucky as tickets were not refundable on all fares. Alitalia flights have continued as usual but the state-controlled airline faces liquidation, which means Maltese travellers could lose the tickets they bought.

They are waking up to the problem but not everyone was so aware of the risks of buying Alitalia tickets.

One such traveller bought three at the beginning of the month for a long-haul trip at the end of the next and is already feeling stranded - even before take-off - with the prospects ahead.

He has been informed by his insurance agency that travel insurance does not cover carrier insolvency and he is already picturing himself waiting for a refund, which could take ages to materialise, and having to pay the cancellation fee anyway, or being stranded at the other end of the world and having to fork out more money to find his way back.

Despite the fact that the flights are booked for the end of next month, he has learnt that the travel agent simply cannot refund the money because it is already in the IATA system with its particular method of payment.

"Moreover, I was not informed by my travel agent at any point that travelling via Alitalia was not a good idea and that I should consider other options, despite the fact that the flights may have been cheaper than others. I would have expected someone who knew more than I did to open my eyes to the fact that it was riskier."

Other travel agents have adopted a different approach, however. A Mondial Holidays representative said that, given the current situation, he would not advise clients to fly Alitalia in the coming months. It is a question of responsibility towards the client, he said.

New investors in the company could honour Alitalia's existing contracts but if talks fail, whoever has bought a ticket stands a good chance of losing it, he added.

However, he maintained that there would be some form of protection for those who would have already embarked on their journey and find themselves stranded due to the collapse of the airline.

Now suffering from the high fuel prices and an economic downturn that have hit the airline sector globally, Alitalia has been on the brink of collapse for years as political interference and labour unrest bled it of cash and caused it to pile up debt.

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