Easyjet, Ryanair interested in new routes

stephanie farrugia

Dec 20th 2008, 15:54

Yes, hopefully they will bring tourists to our islands...and not just take the subsidies offered by MTA and then ditch the route at their whim......

Andrew Spiteri

Dec 20th 2008, 06:43

I hope the government acts fast and throws away all the red tape. This country can no longer afford to be held back because of the slow action of all the various authorities and boards etc. Dr.Demarco please try to be different and get the job done.

joe ciliberti

Dec 20th 2008, 01:02

I thought the country's intersts and our national airline interests go hand in hand. MTA's request to encourage interest of non-Maltese airlines clearly shows that KM and Malta are not one and the same thing. It is thus very clear that KM has no interest in the routes MTA is encouraging to explore and after KM stopped all flights to Glasgow it comes as no surprise! Air Malta has yet to explain its reason/s for cutting all ties between the country and Glasgow and why we are ever so slow in reacting to realities in the present scenario. While the recent flight to Lourdes widely covered by the local media is a commendable effort it also shows the parocchial and narrow-mindedness of our airline because what we should all focus on is how to increase incoming traffic. Instead, what we're seeing is more Maltese going overseas grabbing bargains with foreign airlines at the time that incoming traffic is decreasing. This is not what the country needs and while Air Malta has around 4 jets sitting idle at our airport during winter we are offering other airlines the chance to increase traffic to Malta.

R Gregory

Dec 19th 2008, 23:56

What about Glasgow, Scotland. There are no direct flights from Scotland!

E.Cordina

Dec 19th 2008, 23:07

The real pity is that our national airline operated these routes for decades without 1c in subsidies and only now that it has pulled out we get the government incentives.

Joe Borg

Dec 19th 2008, 22:45

Well perhaps Hotel prices should be low cost too. Notwithstanding the negative situation in the industry ( as described by MHRA), some hotels are still charging exorbitant prices for Xmas lunch and New Year Eve dinner.
Ahna, ahna jew M'ahniex

Ste Geordie

Dec 19th 2008, 21:54

As someone who lives in Newcastle I'd love a flight to operate from NCL to Malta.
Hope it gets off the ground!

James Sultana

Dec 19th 2008, 21:36

Given the current exchange rates, I don`t think that its really worth "spending money" to subsidise the UK routes. The sterling is suffering a lot against the Euro, which means that either the holidays in Malta will be too expensive for the casual UK traveller, or else hotels will be forced to cut prices heavily and this would effect the workers too. It will end up that these routes will ultimately take more Maltese abroad for shopping sprees than bring over tourists. Ryanair are not stupid - they know the exchange situation favours Eurozone and hence want to exploit this by taking those who want to go to the UK.

It would make more sense to tap markets in Italy (the north is severly underserved) and other central europe destinations.

O Xuereb

Dec 19th 2008, 20:32

Please do so!!!!! I work in a hotel and we never had such a bad Christmas like this. Besides that a bleak winter! We badly need help

M.Bezzina

Dec 19th 2008, 19:23

Hope for the best for these airlines to come and have more routes operating through Malta