Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the government has other plans laid out if the deal between Air Malta and Alitalia is off. Asked by this newspaper what these alternatives are, Dr Muscat said that the government has a fall-back position which can be invoked if necessary. "I can assure everyone that such deals are not made haphazardly," he added.

Meeting with MHRA last Friday, the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said he would consider "pulling the plug" on the negotiations between Alitalia and Air Malta if the sale is not favourable for the airline and the government's interests in a pre-budget meeting with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.

This stems for the fact that Air Malta may no longer be the market leader with Ryanair projected to have the largest share of incoming passengers to Malta. Muscat did say that if the sale did not come to fruition he would seek alternatives which would allow Air Malta to stabilize and grow.

Asked on who was present during the negotiations with Crane Currency and when did these start, Dr Muscat reiterated that negations were handled by Malta Enterprise but could not recall what the exact date was.  

On the LNG tanker, Joseph Muscat said that it should be in Malta "not later than in the coming days".