Charles Mangion has replaced Maria Micallef as the chairman of Air Malta in the first shake up since the election.

Mr Mangion, a former Labour justice minister, had been widely rumoured to be the leading contender for the chairmanship of the Malta Financial Services Authority, and this appointment would seem to indicate that this is now unlikely. He recently turned down the chairmanship of Bank of Valletta, following the resignation of John Cassar White.

Government-appointed chairmen hand in their resignation after an election, but so far no one has confirmed whether they are staying or leaving at the various entities.

Ray Sladden is deputy chairman and the directors of the new board are Joseph Gasan, Katrina Borg Cardona, Jonathan Scerri, Tania Brown, Alex Sciberras and Rita Sammut.

Andre Borg is the board secretary.

The appointments were announced by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi who thanked Ms Micallef and the outgoing board members for "their leadership, and the valuable contribution to the national airline".

President Emeritus George Abela will continue to lead negotiations with unions, and will work closely with government and the new board. He will be supported by Permanent Secretaries Ronald Mizzi, Alfred Camilleri, and the technical team.