The GRTU press release referred to a meeting of GRTU officials with Minister Austin Gatt in very anodyne terms. According to the press release they discussed the electricity surcharge. It mentioned in its last sentence that they also discussed the low cost airline debate, about which the minister had very strong words to say when he opened Amitex.

But the press release never revealed the vociferous arguments, using some very strong language, between the minister and the GRTU delegation on low cost airlines.

At the end, when tempers had cooled somewhat, GRTU made a new proposal to the government: that any airline that carries more than 200,000 passengers to Malta gets a discounted landing rate.

This, GRTU feels, will benefit Air Malta and also Lufthansa, and with some incentive, could also benefit other scheduled airlines that fly to Malta. But it may also attract low cost carriers to Malta.

It is not just some bars in Paceville which are in favour of low cost carriers, Philip Fenech told this newspaper: there are also outlets in Bugibba, Marsascala, and other places that employ thousands of people because it is not just Air Malta who employs people.

Ryanair never asked for a subsidy: all it asked for was a discounted landing rate, which is normal business procedure, if it carries two million passengers in four years’ time and is ready to give up this discount if it does not reach this target.

GRTU and those in favour of low cost airlines are not in any way against Air Malta or the tour operators system, Mr Fenech added. But they are equally in favour of allowing low cost airlines to enter the market and compete.

Nor is it true that low cost airlines bring low cost tourists with them, as the minister seems to have implied. A survey at Stansted Airport revealed that a high percentage of low cost airlines users earn upwards of £51,000 a year.

Nor is it true that Malta suffers from overcapacity in the summer months: this only happens in the two weeks around Santa Marija; from April to October the industry suffers from excess capacity that is not being filled by the existing airlines, let alone when the hotels and bedstock being built, at Tigne, Waterfront, Cottonera and Manoel Island come on stream.

Besides, surveys have shown that while low cost airlines, being very computer-based, appeal to the younger generations, the existing airlines appeal mainly to the older generation, most of who are not computer-literate.

In his speech, Dr Gatt said he does not want to be protective, but that is what he is doing, Mr Fenech claimed. He wants to retain the status quo just as the MLP under Dom Mintoff was afraid of change and blocked the import of computers not to put jobs in jeopardy.