Is there not something weird, and unfair, and even - I hesitate (though only briefly) to use the term - illegal in the way Air Malta markets its tickets?

The advertised price of a seat may be, say, €40 (“including taxes”). But when you come to pay for it the cost will be €55 (a hidden increase of nearly 40 per cent) because the airline adds its own “booking fee”.

So, Air Malta sells its own seats at one price and the passenger, with no middle agent involved, has to buy at a higher price. Does that make sense to anybody? This is like a corner shop advertising milk at 75c a carton but charging €1 for it at the till, to cover the cost of selling its milk to you.

I have a vague recollection of the EU proclaiming that the price of an advertised airfare must be all inclusive. No extras. Has Malta opted out of that ruling? Perhaps one of our MEPs (or, maybe, Air Malta) could explain the situation.