Last week Albert Mizzi passed away. He was hailed by all as one of the country’s leading entrepreneurs. Those who knew him would all have their own story of their various experiences with him to recount. However, there is no doubt that Mizzi was entrepreneurial in his approach and balanced his understanding of risk with an excellent understanding of human nature.

He looked for practical ways of doing things better. He was always looking for opportunities to get more value from what he was doing. Through his advice, he made sure that people around him, even if they were just acquaintances, develop an entrepreneurial spirit. Although he was a tough negotiator, he used to try and achieve win-win outcomes. Although at times he appeared to sound traditional in his approach, he sought to embrace change and initiate it.

He knew how to implement radical change the quiet way.

When people move on to eternal afterlife, it is easy to remember the words of Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. With reference to Caesar who had just been slain by a group of Roman senators, Antony claimed that “the evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones”.

[Albert] Mizzi’s entrepreneurial spirit needs to be passed on to today’s youth to ensure that our economy will continue to thrive in the future

In Mizzi’s case, one of the good things has been certainly his time at the helm of Air Malta. Irrespective of what people may claim today, I do not believe there were many who were convinced that having a national airline was a viable proposition for this country. Yet he did it. I am sure he did not like seeing Air Malta in the difficulties that it has been in since the beginning of the 2000’s, and if given half a chance, he would have happily told everyone in no uncertain terms, what needed to be done to sort out Air Malta’s problems.

By sheer coincidence, also at the end of last week, I could witness Air Malta’s efficiency in handling a group of persons with disability, most of them with severe disability, at check-in and in boarding and disembarking the aircraft. I could also compare their handling with that experienced in Rome, when disembarking the aircraft and again at check-in and boarding.

There is simply no comparison. If it were a football match, the Maltese staff would have beaten the Italian staff five – nil.

Where is the connection that I wish to make between the two events? After I had resigned from my post as chairman of Air Malta, I had decided that I would not comment on the national airline. I accept that each person will always do one’s best and decisions taken need to be seen in the context of the time they were taken. So I am not going to start now.

However, I could not help feeling as I came back from Rome last Sunday that if the management of Air Malta and the employees (through their unions) accept that they must follow each other’s fortunes, an equitable solution can be found.

This is the connection I wish to make between the passing away of Mizzi and the trip to Rome last weekend by residents of Id-Dar tal-Providenza and volunteers. Maybe the pioneering spirit that had characterised Air Malta, and which over time could have been lost for reasons that one can fully understand, needs to be recaptured.

Persons who do not know the real situation at the national airline are unaware of the big changes that have taken place there, and are prone to making erroneous judgements about the employees and the management.

Over time, the pioneering spirit I mentioned had led to a consensus about the viability and the relevance of Air Malta. However, it has been evident for some years now that not all remain convinced about the relevance of Air Malta to our country.

There are many who believe that Malta, and especially the tourism sector, can do without Air Malta because we now have the low-cost airlines flying to Malta.

The baton that Mizzi had carried at Air Malta for a number of years, and which was carried by others including myself, needs to continue to be passed on to future generations. There is a second baton that needs to be passed on: Mizzi’s entrepreneurial spirit needs to be passed on to today’s youth to ensure that our economy will continue to thrive in the future.