The Air Malta route to the Italian city of Reggio Calabria has been suspended as the company reviews its viability.
“Air Malta’s flights to Reggio Calabria are currently under review and reservations have been suspended temporarily. Air Malta is considering the future of this route due to commercial expectations not being met,” a company spokesman told The Times.
The company gave no official notice of its decision and had not yet informed customers who booked flights on now cancelled flights – including a reader of The Times who complained in a letter to the editor after booking six seats for December and paying a hotel deposit.
A company spokesman said the issue was still being discussed, adding that the airline “continues to maintain an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders including Comune di Reggio Calabria, to consider whether the route could be reinstated”.
When flights are cancelled, Air Malta “contacts its clients and refunds them with the full price of the tickets paid,” according to the spokesman. When asked whether the company would keep its Manchester route, which was also rumoured to be on the danger list, the spokesman said: “Air Malta will still operate flights to Manchester this winter”.
The airline “is also currently in discussions” with various tour operators and other authorities to operate to Manchester next summer, the spokesman said.
Also, as announced on Monday, “Air Malta will be adding a new twice weekly service to Benghazi in Libya,” he added.
The airline did not say when its Benghazi flights will start operating but said it was important that visas were issued from Benghazi, to make the service viable. Flights over Libya are currently restricted owing to the UN-imposed no-fly zone.
The airline is undergoing a major make-or-break restructuring process after the government pumped in €52 million last year to prevent it from going bankrupt. The European Commission allowed the cash injection to go ahead on condition that a restructuring plan is implemented. The government submitted the plan in May but the Commission is expected to take until the end of the year to evaluate it.