We will recover, Medavia boss promises

Aviation company Medavia is confident it will recover after suffering significant losses because of the seven-month conflict in Libya, its core market.

Medavia general manager Joe Formosa said losses “were not insignificant” but the company refrained from making workers redundant.

The company employs more than 100 people and benefited from a government scheme that allowed it to defer a number of tax payments to mitigate the effect on cash flow.

“We will recover,” Mr Formosa said confidently, citing the fact that oil companies have started to return to Libya.

He was speaking during a company visit paid by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, who said more than 70 firms had approached Malta Enterprise for assistance when the Libya crisis erupted.

Medavia utilised the period of unrest in Libya to obtain international certification that allowed it to carry out innovative engineering and design changes on large and small aircraft. It also invested in new workshops and offices at its hangar in the Safi aviation park.

Mr Fenech congratulated Medavia for using this period to train its staff and to aid humanitarian efforts in Libya.

He said that some 100 entrepreneurs had registered their interest to join a government business delegation to Libya. The trade visit was agreed upon when Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril first visited Malta on September 2 but no dates have yet been set.

Malta Enterprise yesterday said it will facilitate the organisation of business-to-business meetings between Maltese entrepreneurs and their Libyan counterparts, particularly through its commercial office in Tripoli.

The office re-opened its doors recently after closing down during the conflict. It will act as a central point of contact for all Malta Enterprise services and support for businessmen and entrepreneurs seeking to establish commercial and business links throughout the entire Libyan market.