A closed-door meeting held last Friday between Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association has done nothing to allay the MHRA’s scepticism over the sale of a 49 per cent stake in Air Malta to Italy’s national carrier, Alitalia.

When contacted, MHRA president Tony Zahra said: “There was nothing said at the presentation which changes what I said last Thursday”.

Mr Zahra had expressed serious reservations over the negotiations taking place between the two airlines, saying he did “not buy into the deal”. He is in favour of adopting “a Maltese model”, where Air Malta would float some of the shares on the stock exchange while joining a strategic partner to run it.

Asked for further comment, he said Friday’s meeting was confidential and he would respect that.

On Friday, meetings were also held with representatives of the four trade unions involved with the airline, as well as with the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, the Chamber of Commerce, Malta International Airport and the Malta Tourism Authority.

Several participants emerged from the meetings with more questions than answers.

“Whenever we asked about crucial details such as how many jobs will be lost, whether Air Malta will retain the same route network and how much Alitalia will invest in the new Air Malta, no replies were given,” one of them said yesterday.

Another remarked: “They had a stock reply to all questions: ‘We are still negotiating and nothing has been decided yet’.”

This newspaper has already revealed a number of key decisions agreed between the airlines.

Air Malta is set to drastically reduce its workforce but no one will lose their job, with many of the staff becoming employees of a State company. The airline will then hire the employees it needs.

There will also be changes to the route network, while management will be in the hands of Alitalia and Etihad, which owns 49 per cent of the Italian carrier.