MIA is a private monopolist company, Ryanair claims

Ryanair yesterday accused Malta International Airport of holding the country's tourism industry to ransom, being only interested in lining the pockets of its shareholders by imposing high charges.

The low-cost airline said the airport was misleading the public by claiming its airport charges were within the EU's average. It said MIA's cost per passenger was more than three times its average.

An airline spokesman said that if MIA, which he called a private monopolist company, was genuinely interested in the economy it would cut airport charges by offering a discount scheme to all airlines. This would stimulate passenger traffic, which would directly impact the tourism and leisure industries while also improving the business prospects for the country.

MIA was asked for a reaction on Ryanair's comments but no response was forthcoming by the time of writing.

The comments come as Malta, like other tourist destinations, is struggling with the effects the global financial crisis is having on tourism.

In fact, figures released by the National Statistics Office show that tourist arrivals dropped by a further three per cent in April compared to the same period last year. Almost 101,600 tourists arrived in April, three per cent fewer than in 2008 but the same as in April 2007.

Spending declined in the period under review by 10.7 per cent to €187.7 million when compared to 2008.