LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – Malta’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced that one-third of the Maltese national airline, KM Malta Airlines will be privatized as one of the conditions imposed by the European Commission as part of an agreement that enabled Malta to establish the new airline carrier.
The Maltese government is reportedly seeking an investor with direct involvement in the aviation industry, which would allow KM Malta Airlines to benefit from the investor’s expertise and economies of scale.
In an interview with The Times of Malta, Minister Caruana explained that approximately “30% to 35%” of the airline will be sold to the private sector. He empathized “it has to happen” while expressed his hope that this will occur rapidly.
KM Malta Airlines was officially granted an Air Operator Certificate and an Air Operator Licence by the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate last year, following the decision to replace the struggling Air Malta.
The new airline, began operations on 31 March 2024. KM Malta Airlines started operations with around a third of Air Malta’s workforce.
The transition from Air Malta to KM Malta Airlines followed decades of mismanagement at Air Malta, which culminated in the European Commission rejecting a proposed €290 million state aid package for the airline. The Commission cited non-compliance with EU state aid rules. However, the Maltese taxpayers were left to absorb Air Malta’s €356 million in accumulated losses.
(ITALPRESS).
