Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that the national airline will cease operations under its current name, Air Malta and will be reborn as a new company under the name KM Malta Airline.
Speaking to journalists at Malta International Airport he said that the government will invest €350m in the new national carrier which will include a €90m buyout retirement clause for pilots and cabin crew. The new company will also be able to bid to retain the Air Malta name. All 390 staff will be retained.
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said the existing company, Air Malta plc, will formally cease operations on 30 March 2024. He said the new airline will be doing things differently.
“Aircraft will fly longer hours and we will carry the same number of passengers as before COVID but from 17 routes. The new airline will ensure that every flight is profitable and so routes have to make commercial sense.”
In an effort to save Air Malta, talks with the European Commission had been ongoing for the past 30 months with Brussels rejecting the government’s bid to inject funds into Air Malta to prevent it from going bankrupt.
Agreement was reached to liquidate the company and create a new national airline with eight aircraft to be kept on the company’s books.
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