A EUROPEAN airline is due to cease operating by the end of the year, it has been announced.
The airline will instead be replaced by a new national carrier, with all existing staff set to be laid off.
Air Malta has already cut its staff numbers significantly, from more than 1,000 down to around 300.
However, those who lose their jobs will be able to apply to work for the new replacement airline, which will take over "seamlessly" from the old one, according to Air Malta boss David Curmi.
He told the Times of Malta that the current airline would be replaced after the European Commission blocked the Maltese government’s attempts to save it with a €300million (£265m) cash injection.
He said: “We are nearing the end of long, difficult and complex discussions with the European Commission, which did not want a photocopy of Air Malta.
Read More on Airlines
Airline to launch bunk beds in economy – and you can book ‘nap’ times
Report shows which airlines have the worst hidden fees – charging up to £200 extra
“The new airline will have its own booking platform and tickets will be sold there.
"The old company will continue operations until the very end when the new airline will take over. That is why we’re anticipating that the transition will be largely seamless."
He said that the replacement airline was part of a five-year business plan for Malta to finally have a national carrier that "makes business sense".
He also said the end of this year was the target for the new airline to be up and running, and assured people that the service would offer flights to "key cities" and "key airports".
Most read in News Travel
Turkey holiday resort is just like the Maldives – and flights are £45
UK field looks like a top European tourist attraction but it's already sold out
We bought a ‘one euro' Italian townhouse which took 3 years to renovate
After 10 years of hype – what theme park dubbed 'UK Disneyland' looks like today
The move is very similar to the one which saw Alitalia closed down before Italia Trasporto Aereo was launched in its place.
It comes after Air Malta continued to make losses following the pandemic.
Curmi has also insisted that the new airline will not have a no-frills approach and will be competitive due to its quality of service, rather than its cheaper prices.
Ryanair have warned that more airlines could vanish in the future, as businesses continue to recover from Covid-19.
The airline's CEO, Michael O'Leary, believes that Europe is entering an "inevitable" post-pandemic period of airline consolidation.
He said that will happen as carriers struggle to compete in the new travel landscape.
As part of that, airlines like easyJet and Wizz Air could be bought out by bigger carriers, as they find it difficult to become profitable.
"We are definitely, post-Covid, entering a four or five-year period of consolidation," O'Leary told Reuters.
"I think it is likely that in the next couple of years easyJet and Wizz (Air) will also be taken out by the legacy carriers."
O'Leary said he believed the sector in Europe would move towards having four large airlines: Lufthansa, Air France-KLM , IAG and and Ryanair.
Read More on The Sun
I don’t pay any rent thanks to my renovated Ford Transit van – here’s the best bit
80,000 families missing out on more than £1,000 in free cash – how to claim
Meanwhile, these are the worst airlines for customer service currently operating in the UK.
And these are the airlines with the most delays in the UK last year.
Source: Read Full Article