"One of the main challenges I had when I took this job was to make the Maltese believe that even though the airport was no longer a parastatal company, it did not belong to foreigners,”said outgoing MIA CEO Peter Bolech said.

He explained that he was appointed in 2002 - the same year when Malta International Airport was privatised.

"It was a bold decision to privatise the company and we had to do our best to convince the Maltese people that it is still a Maltese company, and not one owned by foreigners,”said Mr Bolech.

Although this might be very easy to say it is actually very hard to implement. However, Mr Bolech explained that through heavy investment and sponsorships in the three main sectors - culture, tourism and environment - MIA remained something inherently Maltese.

"Through, for example, the restoration of Manoel Theatre we helped restore something that is part of the Maltese heritage,”he said.

He pointed out that the MIA's constant and active interest in Maltese culture helped create a bridge between Vienna and Malta - a concept that was quite successful.

"It was important for us not only to give back something to the shareholders but, more importantly, we wanted to give something back to the stakeholders as well,”said Mr Bolech.

The changeover from a parastatal company - with all the connotations of a public employee - to a private company is not always easy.

However, Mr Bolech highly complimented the staff and said that the MIA employees accepted and helped the change.

"There was, and still is, a low staff turnover because people chose to remain and you feel that they made that choice because they want it, not simply because they want to keep their job,”he said.

Even though MIA is a small airport, Mr Bolech said that operationally it could be compared to a British airport because MIA does not have ground handling.

The MIA has around 400 employees but there are around 3,000 people who work at the airport.

"There is a formula which states that for every one million passengers there are 1,000 employees at an airport. In Malta's case, with around three million passengers the airport has around 3,000 employees - the airport gives people jobs,”he said.

When asked about the state of affairs he found here when he took over the company in 2002, Mr Bolech was full of praise.

"I was pleasantly surprised with the operational aspect of the whole company when I started - it was very good,”he said.

However, he felt there was a need to give - and he did - a push to the business development side of the company.

"We had to turn around the reduced accessibility of Malta in other countries and influence the market convincing people to come here,”said Mr Bolech.

Furthermore, he added, through various incentives Air Malta was given a helping hand while new airlines bringing in more tourists were attracted to Malta.

Mr Bolech had high praise for the MIA employees and said he was impressed with their dedication and commitment

"When I started working here, I learnt how working for the MIA has added pride for the employees,”he said.

Whenever there was an extra task or something else that needed to be done, the employees did not consider or ask why it should be done but simply did it with commitment and enthusiasm, he said.

"I learnt a lot - when you have people from two different cultures working together you learn from each one. I learnt how people appreciate working for MIA and their commitment towards the company,”said Mr Bolech.

The CEO explained that this year, airport capacity will reach three million passengers a year.

"We never stopped working on the airport - we are constantly making changes to improve it,”he said.

Mr Bolech explained that new check-in counters were added, new retail space was created in the airport lounge, security measures have increased and the departure area was extended.

"We do not wait for a deadline or a specific landmark to improve the airport but are constantly working on how to improve and adjust its capacity,”he said.

Although the Schengen Treaty will be implemented in March next year, Mr Bolech said that MIA has been prepared since March 2006.

Now what is next in line for MIA?

"The next five years are the beginning of the biggest capital investment for the MIA,”said Mr Bolech.

Within the next five years, the airport will invest Lm10 million in the resurfacing of the runways. The project also includes adding new taxi-ways to increase capacity - one of which will be used exclusively by Lufthansa Technik.

"As you probably have realised when walking in, we are also building the new area which will house the new departure area. The present departure lounge will be used as retail space for more shops - after all the departure area is a place people have to go to but the positioning of retail space is very important,”said Mr Bolech.

When asked about the importance of low-cost airlines, Mr Bolech said that there are three types of carriers - all of which are important.

"There are the legacy carriers, the charter operators - these still have to play a big role in Malta , and finally the low cost airlines,”he said.

Mr Bolech explained that the low cost airlines bring in a new type of clientele - one that comes over for short stays but more frequently.

"Malta's tourism needs this type of tourist who come through a new distribution channel - booking directly over the internet,”he said.

He added that these three types of carriers have to live harmoniously side-by-side - a balance which Malta will reach in the future.

When asked if he will miss all this, or if he will miss Malta, Mr Bolech immediately smiled.

"I will certainly miss waking up in the morning and looking at a beautiful blue sky - even in winter. In Austria you usually wake up to fog and I will not take Maltese weather for granted,”he said.

He also said that he will miss the short distances when travelling from one side of the island to another. However, distance is always a perception.

"When I came here and was trying to choose between Swieqi and Mellieha to live in, people would always tell me that there is a long drive from Mellieha to the airport - which is nothing to me,”he said.

However, much to my incredulity, he also told me that he would jog from Swieqi to Mellieha, or to Mgarr - once again emphasising the short distance between the two places.

Mr Bolech plans to go back to Vienna and set up his own consultancy firm. However, his six years in Malta have left a warm impression and he will not forget it easily.

"I have a lot of friends here - home is where you make it and Malta certainly has become home - I will not forget it,”he said.