Plastic barricades yesterday blocked access to the rent-a-car parking lot at the Malta International Airport after a disagreement arose over the new rates for its use.
Business is not so good and MIA, as a key player, has to help the industry
Tourists who turned up to return their rented car were met by security officers who redirected them to the main car park instead.
However, an MIA spokesman insisted this action did not cause any inconvenience, adding that customer care was at its core so it ensured tourists were not affected by the closure.
The issue revolves around discussions on a new contract between the airport and the Rent-A-Car Association (RACA) over the payment for the 182 parking spaces in the precincts of the airport.
The previous three-year contract expired in March and since no agreement had been reached, the airport extended it by three months.
After the July 1 deadline expired, airport staff barricaded the area, allowing cars to leave but not enter.
When contacted, an association spokesman confirmed no agreement had been reached on the new contract because the airport had requested a steep increase in the fee that car rental companies must pay for each parking slot.
He said the airport company wanted the annual rental fee to increase by more than €300,000 over a three-year period for all 182 parking spaces.
Without divulging financial details, an MIA spokesman said the requested increases were justified.
“One must point out that the rate requested by the company is already competitive when compared to other parking operations and thus, it is more so when one considers that the car rental operators make commercial use of the area and it is not merely a ‘parking’,” the spokesman said.
He refuted claims that tourists were inconvenienced by the closure, saying this was “surely not the case”.
“The company took the initiative to have extra staff deployed to advise all passengers returning their rented car that they could leave the car in the main car park, thus ensuring that our clients – the passengers – were not affected at all by this situation. In fact, none of the passengers suffered any delay.
“Moreover, passengers arriving in Malta and renting a car could easily leave the car-rental area as the exit remains fully operational. Malta International Airport plc is all for an agreement to be reached at the earliest,” he said.
The RACA spokesman said the association entered into an agreement with the airport to offer a service to its clients who were part of Malta’s tourism industry chain.
“We take up the slots to offer a service to tourists who come to visit the island. Business is not so good and MIA, as a key player, has to help the industry,” the spokesman said.