The current debate over low cost airlines services deserves a lot of attention and great caution on the part of the government.

While there are several advantages that could be reaped from such services, foremost among which is the fact that people would spend less to travel to and from Malta, there are other serious matters that must be taken into consideration before taking the plunge.

The first big issue at stake is the future of Air Malta. Will the national airline survive if low cost airlines take over a good share of its market?

Air Malta did not perform well over the past years and efforts have been taken in hand to stop the slide. The results have so far proved satisfactory but Air Malta is still far from achieving the results it had obtained only a few years ago. More should be done and low cost airlines operating on the same routes will not help.

The competition Air Malta would get from low cost airlines will be a big blow for it. The national airline would not be in a position to offer the same cheap prices for travelling, and would risk extinction, leaving hundreds jobless.

The second point is that other airlines which operate regularly to Malta could decide to pull out of the business if a low cost airline takes over a big chunk of their market. It will not serve Malta's purposes if low cost airlines come in and push other airlines out.

As in all matters, a balance needs to be struck in the circumstances, and the way the government seems to be moving is probably the best way.

It would be very positive for Malta to attract more tourists to the island, and low cost travelling might do the trick to achieve the 1.5 million mark the government is after. Yet, to reach this target, the number of tourists needs to be ‘increased’ and not ‘replaced’ – it would be pointless to just substitute one airline with another to bring over the same amount of tourists, not to mention the negative effects on Air Malta which have already been mentioned.

The idea is to attract new tourists from new destinations. For many years Malta has tried to diversify its markets but its efforts have not been successful. If low cost flights are offered from new destinations then there is a possibility that tourists will choose Malta because of the availability of a cheaper service and a direct connection.

In this way, Malta would be getting more tourists over and at the same time the sustainability of Air Malta would be safeguarded, while leaving other airlines that already operate to Malta as they are today.

Maltese travellers might complain that they would be spending much more to travel anyway if such low cost services are not offered on the more popular destinations.

On the other hand, Maltese travellers should realise that they stand to lose out too because unpopular routes would be removed to concentrate on the more profitable destinations.

Another issue is what Investments Minister Austin Gatt referred to as calls from low cost airlines to be granted subsidies and what Ryanair, one of the airlines vying to operate to and from Malta, described as a competitive cost base which equates to what is available in similar airports.

Again, the two sides – the government and low cost airlines – have different interests and interpretations. What is important is that the government is not too stringent in its requests and the airline operators are not too demanding.

Both Malta and low cost airlines stand to gain if such services are introduced locally.

Yet this should not be at the expense of the existing structure and, most of all, should not be detrimental to the national airline.