Crucial decisions on Air Malta will be taken in the next few weeks, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

He said the government was seeking to bring in foreign investors in an attempt to get the airline back on its feet, similar to what it did with Enemalta.

The time had come for the government to take decisions and to solve the issues that had left the national airline struggling year after year, he said at a Labour Party event held at St Paul’s Bay. “We cannot allow such a crucial company to continue limping.”

With Enemalta, the government had brought in Chinese investors who acquired a third of the company. Dr Muscat said that, while seeking a similar investment for Air Malta, the government would be ensuring the airline remained Maltese and that workers would not only keep their jobs but be exposed to new opportunities.

The government, as the majority shareholder in Air Malta, has over the past months been holding talks with several airlines, with a view to finding a strategic partner.

Dr Muscat said he was certain that in the coming weeks, when crucial decisions are made, there would be those who instil doubts. But, he added, one had to keep in mind that similar doubts existed some 40 years ago when Air Malta was first set up.

“I am determined to put Air Malta back on its feet and to make it one of the main contributors to the economy.”

‘Are hotels paying workers enough?’

Touching upon the American University of Malta project, Dr Muscat said that, while the government was intent on making it a success, the Opposition was “all over the place”.

Initially it had been in favour of the project only to change its view once NGOs complained about the environmental aspects they felt had been ignored, Dr Muscat said.

He drew comparisons between this project and Smart City, adding that the ground rent for the university would be 50 times higher than Smart City.

Earlier, Dr Muscat highlighted the government’s recent achievements.

I am determined to put Air Malta back on its feet

Water and electricity tariffs had been lowered, petrol and diesel prices would be going down and pensioners would be benefitting from increases in their pensions as of January. This, he said, showed how the government had brought about change that truly made a difference in people’s everyday lives.

Dr Muscat said the government was, and would remain, pro-business while also being pro-worker.

The government was not satisfied with the situation at hotels where workers’ conditions were a concern. Hoteliers, Dr Muscat said, were complaining about not finding enough Maltese to work for them yet the government questioned what they were doing to improve this situation.

“We ask these hoteliers, are they paying their workers enough? Are they offering them good conditions? We support entrepreneurs, but we also support the workers.”

Integration of those with a disability would also be something the government would not stop working on, Dr Muscat said.

In the coming year, the government would be making sure that employers adhered to the measure announced in the Budget of last year, that companies with more than 50 workers must have two per cent of the workforce made up of people with disabilities.

It would also be looking at other ways to help those who could not work because their disability prevented them from doing so, including the possibility of giving them benefits equal to the minimum wage.