KARIN ZIPPERER was recently appointed chairman of Malta International Airport. Noel Grima interviewed her to find out more about her and about her stewardship of MIA.

What is the background of your career at VIE?

I joined Flughafen Wien AG (VIE), department finance, investor relations and group shareholdings in July 2000, responsible for the group

shareholding/investments of VIE. Besides administrative issues, I was involved in various projects; one of them was the privatisation of Malta International Airport. Later, as Project Leader, I managed the privatisation process of the Berlin airports, which was stopped by the public in 2003.

Then I started working for the investor relations department and finalised a MBA programme at the Donauuniversity in Krems, focused on Aviation Industry. In mid 2004 I was asked to join the general secretary and worked in the privatisation process of Bratislava Airport and Kosice Airport. In January 2007 I was appointed managing director of VIE International Beteiligungsmanagement Gesellschaft mbH (VINT), a 100 per cent subsidiary of VIE which is doing acquisition projects and consultancy services, responsible for investments abroad (like Malta).

What was your participation at privatisation talks in Malta?

In 2001/2002 I was part of the team of VIE which worked on the bid for the privatisation of Malta International Airport and negotiated with the Government of Malta the agreements accordingly. After that I was a member of the Board of the Holding, which owns 40 per cent of MIA together with our partners SNC Lavalin and Airport Investment Ltd.

I am really doubly glad to be now more and more deeply involved in MIA’s development as I spent a lot of time and effort to win the tender for the privatisation of MIA.

Besides, I am really fond of Malta, its culture and the kindness of its people so I am always happy to come back here which now will be more often than before.

What has MIA achieved so far since privatisation?

It is now five years since VIE (together with SNC Lavalin and Airport Investment Ltd) became shareholder in MIA. Since then MIA has joined the Malta stock exchange and become a very interesting investment as the share price and the value of the company has almost doubled.

A lot of investments and exchange programmes between staff of MIA and VIE have been carried out to improve the quality of operations at the airport. Since then MIA has been among the world-best airports in the category below five million passengers three times. During the last five years we also improved accessibility to Malta International Airport for new airlines and therefore increased the variety of destinations from and to Malta.

Concerning the cargo segment, a new cargo village was set up and, through the improvement of the infrastructure also at VISET, we are able to promote a promising homeporting concept. On the non-aviation side the retail offer was expanded, the food and beverage areas were renewed and improved during that time, including a playground area for children, as well as the expansion of the Terminal for arrivals and departures according to Schengen requirements and through that, the realisation of a nice entrance area for arriving passengers.

What will MIA be doing in the coming months?

MIA will continue supporting the development of tourism in the country and prove its commitment by marketing not only the airport itself but also Malta as a destination, which is also underlined by MIA’s seat on the MTA board. What is also important next month is the finalization of the Schengen area to be ready when the implementation starts.

Furthermore, MIA will start with the refurbishment of runways by trying to minimise interruptions in the operation of the airport.

MIA will go on supporting the e Lufthansa Technik Project and optimising its non-aviation business.

Have there been any changes in the MIA business plan under your chairmanship?

My chairmanship started a month ago, but so far I can say that today I want to continue with the business plan I had already approved as a member of the board of MIA. The policy MIA follows is something I fully support and do not see any need for essential changes yet.

What more do you and MIA intend to do over the coming period?

Although we gained very good results for the previous year 2006, we will continue our efforts to increase Malta’s competitiveness on a long-term basis and will try to increase the destination offer and frequencies and market the product “Malta” abroad. Although low cost carriers entered the Maltese market we will still try to improve the quality of air connections and the number of destinations. Additionally, we will strongly develop further the non-aviation business in MIA.

You have met MIA personnel. What is your message to them and the stakeholders at MIA?

I remember MIA when I came here five years ago during the privatisation process and saw a very well operated airport as regards the operation, technical and administrative side. I was even more impressed when I saw that most of MIA’s personnel had a very positive attitude to the new shareholder structure, which is of course the key factor for every new investor to be able to realise and optimise the business in order to be successful. MIA’s success is mostly due to its employees and their commitment to the company, so it is my intention to maintain this approach.

Concerning stakeholders, the intention is to prove that this company –MIA – is a Maltese company and is fully committed to the country. We will therefore continue to improve the quality of our services and the infrastructure by taking all the measures I already mentioned above.