The Shift: Air Malta to close by end of year

Air Malta will be dissolved “after summer”, The Shift revealed on Saturday morning.

A plan to dissolve the airline and “start afresh with a leaner and more commercially-viable airline” has already been initiated, the investigative news outlet reported.

It revealed that ongoing discussions with Brussels are now focusing on the transition to a new airline without breaching the EU’s strict state aid rules.

The European Commission has informally told the government there is no chance of the €290 million state aid sought for Air Malta being approved, The Shift reported.

Air Malta is expected to pay tens of millions in redundancy and severance packages when it will be closing down “by the end of this year”.

PN calls for transparency

Update 15:10 | The Nationalist Party has called on the government to be “clear, honest and transparent” about the future of Air Malta.

“News like this creates uncertainty for many people, including employees and their families, everyone who works in the tourism industry and airline customers”, the PN said in its reaction.

“The government’s inexplicable silence only increases this uncertainty”, it said.