I’m not sure who decides the subsidies on certain airports to bring more business to Malta. One area that is really lacking is certain airports in Germany. I’m sure that if subsidies from certain airports from Germany are given, the number of tourists to Malta would almost double. This will have a positive effect because Malta is too dependent on the British market. For instance:

Frankfurt-Hahn airport is over 120 km away from Frankfurt and would bring people from the Rhineland region rather than the Hesse region where Frankfurt city is situated. Frankfurt-Hahn is a low-cost airport and would not hinder any traffic from Frankfurt Main (Flughaven) airport where AirMalta and Lufthansa operate. People who use Frankfurt-Hahn airport live in the far west of Germany, namely the Rhein-Hunsruck Region. Malta is losing a big opportunity as this region is very wealthy. People from Rhein-Hunsruck Region would not bother to go all the way to Frankfurt Main airport to catch a flight to Malta, they would simply use Frankfurt Hahn airport, which is closer. It is not true that Lufthansa flights will be affected.

Another important destination is Dortmund airport. Again Malta is losing an important destination where lots of airlines use this airport profitably.

Perhaps negotiations with AirBerlin can be done in a way to have regular flights from Nuremberg, among other German cities all year round.

Palma del Mallorca was smart enough and managed to bring AirBerlin as a base there, offering more than 12 destinations to and from Germany. So imagine what Malta is losing!! Why do we take so long to act?

I hope this does not fall on deaf ears and that some action is taken before it is too late.

D. Farrugia

LUQA