Minister Edward Zammit Lewis is informed that the Civil Aviation Directorate has suspended Fly Hermes' Malta licence.

The Civil Aviation Directorate is also conducting an investigation, the Minister said. "In such situations we need to take immediate action as it is not only an inconvenience to tourists and passengers but such issues can also have repercussions on Malta's image as a tourism destination".

Last week, the Tourism Ministry said that the Italian civil aviation authority (L'Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC) launched an investigation regarding the numerous delays in respect of its flights to Sicily and Italy since its launch in December. There had been several complaints of cancelled and delayed flights.

The Minister believes that not much damage was incurred through this situation as immediate action was taken. There will be similar situations to this and the important thing is not to allow such situations to drag on. We must remain vigilant as if we want to improve our tourism product and further attract quality tourism we cannot permit such situations to occur.

Until recently, the Maltese operator had offered B737-400-operated flights from Malta to Comiso and Palermo in Sicily with onward connections to Turin in northern Italy.