As arguments fly over Air Malta’s decision to drop inflight meals for economy class passengers in favour of a snack, people working for the company and thousands others employed in tourism must have winced when they read of the collapse of Cyprus Airways.

Not that Air Malta has any connection with Cyprus Airways but the news comes as a stark reminder of what can happen to the national airline if it fails to become viable by next year. Considered in this context, the arguments over whether the airline should serve hot meals or just a baguette and water, as it is doing now, may be considered somewhat irrelevant, if not trivial. However, the matter is neither trivial nor irrelevant to the airline.

Any saving, however small it may appear in the eyes of passengers, would make sense and this not just within the framework of the work it is doing to ensure its survival but, also, to protect the interests of the tourism sector and the economy.

It is not the time for any industrial action either. The time calls for a solid commitment from all concerned to see how best they can overcome the problems the carrier is facing.

Other airlines will no doubt step in to take the business on its most profitable routes if it were to fail. But Air Malta must not be allowed to fail for, like other national flag carriers, it is not just a commercial operation. As one tourism operator put it so well some time ago, it represents the sector’s soul.

It is therefore crucial for Malta to do all it can to save the airline. Mistakes made in the past, when every additional worker (over and above requirements) taken on by the company at the behest of politicians only added to its financial problems, serve as a painful reminder of the harm politicians can do whenever they interfere in commercial operations in this manner to serve their own interest or that of the party they represent.

The Cyprus carrier collapsed when the European Commission decided that the airline must repay over €65 million in illegal State aid. Brussels was highly critical of the carrier’s restructuring plans, arguing they were based on unrealistic assumptions. It failed to address the cause of its difficulties and was taking too long to implement the plans.

These are points that are of direct relevance to our airline’s case but Air Malta chairwoman Maria Micallef argues that the collapse of Cyprus Airways will only strengthen their resolve to take the difficult and necessary decisions to save the airline.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis struck a somewhat confident note, too, when he said that, although the collapse of Cyprus Airways was worrying, he did not think Air Malta would follow suit.

Still, closure of the Libyan routes is making the airline’s task harder than forecast because it is losing €1 million a month. According to the original plans, Air Malta had to make a profit in the past financial year but, instead, it made a loss of €16 million. The fact that it halved its losses in the 2014 financial year over the result for 2013 does suggest an improvement but it still has some way to go before it can become viable.

Ms Micallef said the airline needed to get out of restructuring mode and start thinking of long-term sustainability beyond 2016. Yes, but the airline will first have to overcome the first hurdle – breaking even.

Time is running out and, as Ms Micallef herself said at the annual general meeting, this is Air Malta’s last chance for long-term survival.

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