Air Malta has been operating flights to Libya in the past week at a loss due to an exorbitant hike in insurance costs, contrary to reports that it has been profiting from the crisis, according to industry sources.

Air Malta has been charging in excess of €400 for one-way flights from Libya in the wake of the popular uprising and subsequent bloody crackdown in the country, which has seen tens of thousands of foreigners desperately trying to flee.

The airline’s one-way flights from Libya usually cost less than half that amount, leading to accusations that the national carrier was exploiting the crisis for financial gain.

But after it emerged on Friday that Air Malta’s insurer had declared Libya a ‘war zone’ and increased the cost of insurance by €80,000 on each flight operated from Libya, sources told The Sunday Times that even tickets costing €400 could not enable Air Malta to operate the flights at a profit.

To meet the €80,000 increase on each flight, Air Malta would have had to charge 150 passengers – the average amount carried onboard flights from Libya in recent days – €533 per ticket. That would still not cover all insurance, fuel and operating costs.

Air Malta is one of only three commercial carriers that has continued to operate flights from Libya after Lufthansa, British Airways, BMI, Austrian Airlines and Alitalia scrapped all flights from the country last week, partly due to hiked insurance costs.

Despite the chaos in Libya, the national carrier attempted to adhere to its schedule and also laid on extra flights to bring Maltese and other foreign nationals to Malta.

It was reported on Friday that Air Malta representatives had run in and out of the chaotic terminal in Tripoli carrying a Maltese flag to attract the attention of Maltese people looking for a way home. Pilots and crew have volunteered to work on flights from Libya.

“Air Malta went beyond its commercial obligations. It worked with the Maltese government and international organisations to ensure repatriation was carried out,” industry sources told The Sunday Times.

Libya closed its airspace on Friday afternoon and yesterday’s Air Malta flight from Tripoli was cancelled.

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