Air Malta has accused Ryanair of issuing misleading statements about it and other members of the Association of European Airlines criticising “their abysmal punctuality, lost baggage and cancelation statistics”.

Air Malta said this morning that Ryanair was not a member of AEA and this was not the first time that it had issued such a misleading statement on Air Malta and other airlines members of AEA.

“The national airline’s track record in punctuality, completion of flights and especially baggage handling remain among the best in Europe.

“Ryanair’s only intention is to undermine Air Malta’s consistently good operation performance.”

Air Malta said Ryanair was only a point to point carrier which meant that its passengers did not have the possibility of transiting and using through check-in facilities.

“It is also difficult to confirm the accuracy of the statistics published by Ryanair as in their usual cavalier fashion, they do not even state what period these figures cover.

“This is typical of the way Ryanair pass on information to the public.”

Air Malta expressed its satisfaction that Ryanair listed it among a distinguished group of well-established airlines.

“Air Malta prides itself of offering full service treatment to its passengers without resorting to hidden charges when booking and checking-in of luggage online as well as when using the traditional check-in services,” the national airline said.