Air Malta’s new private ground handling company, Aviation Services Handling Services Limited, is providing a cheaper service than that provided previously by in-house Air Malta personnel, said finance Minister Clyde Caruana.

The minister was answering a parliamentary question by PN MP Ivan Castillo.

Although Castillo asked for a specific monetary figure, he was told that “Air Malta is paying the market price which is comparable to what Air Malta paid at other airports in Europe, and is lower than what Air Malta was paying when the ground handling service it was said to be given in-house.”

The national company had last year slashed around 300 employees from ground handling in a bid to save the airline.

In January 2022, the ministerhad said that such cuts would mean that the airline would save around €15 million a year.